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Tourist visits to Grotto to be limited
The Grotto is swarming everyday with tourists, scuba divers, and local residents who want to visit the area. (Contributed Photo)
The Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality, the Marianas Visitors Authority, and the Department of Lands and Natural Resources are in talks of setting up a gate at the Grotto.
BECQ administrator Frank Rabauliman said the gate would seek to ensure the safety of those who visit the Grotto.
Rabauliman said the gate will limit the number of visitors at the Grotto and monitor how many individuals are there.
The group is concerned with how treacherous the stairways are. “It is an accident waiting to happen,” he said.
Rabauliman said the BECQ, MVA, and DLNR have been scoping the Grotto area for a few weeks now and have found that the area is swarming everyday with tourists, scuba divers, and local residents who want to visit the area.
According to Rabauliman, he has witnessed how packed the Grotto stairways get from all the individuals who go up and down and who are just standing there to take pictures. Scuba divers also carry their tanks up and down the Grotto stairway and can’t get through because of the tourists who are descending and ascending.
The plan is that MVA would pay for the construction of the gate, DLNR will establish the regulations and manage the gate, and BECQ will oversee the project. Details have yet to be finalized but it was discussed that a scheduling system will be put into play or a ticket system will be put in place.
The idea is to open the Grotto at 8:30am and close it at 5pm.
