Great ideas y’all!!! Keep it coming.

Great ideas y’all!!! Keep it coming.

Why don’t we have more cruise ships that sails from Guam up to Saipan that way you can have people stop in Luta, Tinian on the way. Don’t tell me people on Guam don’t get bored.

As far as shopping malls, La Fiesta is BADA$$, DFS Galleria is nice too.

I think everytime the CNMI gives up too easily on their tourism investments. Even if things don’t pan out and the water is left half-full, we just don’t see it half-empty when we are pessimistic. We throw out the water from the cup because its not good enough (figuratively speaking) and then look for another source to fill it up again. IF we just look at the infrastructure thats there and take ownership and make it our own and unique to the CNMI we’ll begin to fill that cup up ourselves.

Oh and please let’s get rid of the SAI-PANDA, its like we’re trying to lure children into a candy store. Leave that ^%#& to Mickey Mouse.

So noted sir. However, then explain why Guam (which is 90 nautical miles away) brings in more tourists than the NMI. Their airports and tourists spots are always packed. In fact, when tourists go to dine in these parts, they practically have to wait in line.

Over here, using the Saipan International Airport as an example, we have more Airport staff present than we do tourists.

Thanks for the discussion.

While I agree that the CNMI needs to be more creative in bringing in more tourists I believe that there is a fundamental aspect about tourism that people tend to forget.

Besides Las Vegas and Natural Wonders of the World, what are some well known tourist spots?? I’ll give you some examples, the Colliseum in Rome, the Statue of Liberty, the Great Wall of China and for smaller scale economies, New Orleans/Bourbon Street among others.

I have never been to any of these destinations but I do know one thing. All of the “main attractions” were built and developed for their own people and citizens. The Colliseum was built by the Roman empire to appease the public with brutal sport and entertainment. The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the people of America. The great wall of China was built to protect their people from northern invaders. And Mardi Gras in New Orleans? Well its part of their culture that has become the context of books, film, drama and the like.

Come on, there are shopping malls and amusement parks all over the US and Asia (ok I really don’t know any in Aisa except for Akihabara in Japan and Disney) that tourists can enjoy. We’ve got to be original.
To be continued…

1) what happens when it rains; or better yet,

2) doesn’t guam, hawaii, puerto rico, or the bahamas provide the same natural amenities that tourists can enjoy?

please re-read my previous post in its entirety so that you can fully grasp the gist of the point i was trying to convey. thanks.

PERFECT! Thats exactly what I would expect booking a trip to the islands.

Do we expect tourists to return to our islands having already tanned at our beaches, swam in our waters, enjoyed the climate, and visited all the historical sites? I don’t think so. On the same topic, what does Saipan have to offer that Guam (which is 90 nautical miles away) can’t possibly provide?

The CNMI needs additional activities and I am not speaking about Taste Marianas or the Flame Tree Arts Festival. I am speaking in terms of building amusement parks, recreational facilities (like olympic sized pools, etc.) malls, etc.

We can no longer market our WWII historical sites since all the baby boomers have already grown up and visited these sites on a number of ocassions.

Politicians should seek long term solutions and not come at us with tired phrases and ideas like improving our hospitality/Hafa Adai spirit or the local immigration office. The CNMI can only attract and cater to the Asian Market since statesiders would not pay huge sums of money (passing over Puerto Rico, Hawaii, California, or the Bahamas) for airfare to visit the CNMI that has very little to offer when compared to other destinations.

It might also be useful to conduct a marketing survey of some sort by having the tourist who visisted the island fill out a carefully outlined critique form and then compile the results. The results could be a useful tool to gage where the Marianas is failing.

What are the real reasons JAL and Northwest pulled out? What are the real reasons why long-time Japanese investors have been disappearing from the CNMI, one by one? Did sheer government mismanagement and corruption have anything to do with it, and if so, how? What experiences do tourists have when they come to our islands that make them never want to return? What do tourists tell others when they return to their home countries? Were they cheated by tour agents? Were their cars robbed while they were out diving? Were they disgusted by the muddy lagoon and the trash on the beach? Did they receive poor service in restaurants and stores? Did they ever meet a single resident who treated them with the gracious hospitality and warmth of which we are all capable?

If we are sincere about reviving our tourism industry, we must be honest about the reasons it declined in the first place. No marketing campaign, no off-island expo or personal visit with investors will bring our tourism industry back if we do not look honestly at the kind of tourist destination that we have actually been, and if we have no vision for the kind of tourist destination we can and should be.