Ongoing tensions between the US and China have given rise to the erroneous but persistent belief that this is a zero-sum issue, one that favors one side or the other, either favoring the US or favoring China. Of course, that is nonsense. The situation is much more nuanced than is being made clear.
Admittedly, I am no expert on geopolitics, nor am I well versed in the military planning and international political pawns of the Chinese or US governments, but I think we can all agree that this lofty level of politics is not generally shared by the general populace, who are more interested in putting food on the table. Once their basic needs are met, people usually want to travel for pleasure, and the Chinese are no exception.
The problem seems to be that many confuse the Chinese government’s occasional belligerent behavior with the behavior of ordinary Chinese people, which is a truism that is rarely the same. While the actions of the People’s Republic of China government and its military in the Indo-Pacific have understandably put the U.S. military on the defensive and forced Washington to defend itself and its allies, the Chinese public sees it quite differently.
As Saipan Chamber of Commerce President Alex Sablan pointed out, Hong Kong Airlines’ resumption of service to Saipan is evidence of the latent demand for travel from China, with Hong Kong Airlines’ once-weekly flight carrying more tourists than United Airlines’ three-times-weekly flight to Japan. Tourists are even willing to stop over in South Korea to get here.
The potential demand for this travel has been recognized by the U.S. government itself, with the U.S. Department of Commerce and China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism co-hosting the 14th U.S.-China Tourism Leadership Summit in Xi’an, China from May 21-23, 2024.
The U.S. delegation was led by Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry Analysis Grant T. Harris and included representatives from Destination DC, Destination Niagara USA, Discover Puerto Rico, Guam Visitors Bureau, Hawaii Tourism Board, Hilton Worldwide, International Inbound Travel Association, Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, Marriott International, MasterCard, New York City Convention and Visitors Association, San Francisco Travel Association, Travel Oregon, Travel South USA, U.S. Travel Association, Visa, Visit California, Visit San Diego and Visit Seattle.
In her speech at the summit, Harris said that travel and tourism supports 9.5 million American jobs and that the summit is an important opportunity to advance the Commerce Department’s mission to enhance the global competitiveness of the U.S. travel and tourism industry. Harris said that the U.S. will welcome 66.5 million tourists in 2023, and these tourists will spend $213 billion. This influx of tourists has helped the U.S. tourism industry recover by 84% compared to 2019 figures. Admittedly, not all of them are Chinese tourists, but this market segment is known as one of the key drivers of tourism recovery.
“This summit underscores the importance of strengthening travel, tourism and people-to-people exchanges between our two countries,” said Harris. “Through our participation, we hope more Chinese tourists will experience the United States, which will support jobs and economic growth in communities across the country.”
This is very promising news for the travel industry. Unfortunately, as things stand, the expected increase in Chinese tourists may pass the CNMI by. The fact that the Guam Visitors Bureau was present at a summit in China in May speaks volumes about the welcoming attitude of our southern neighbor, while the CNMI government is clearly in a position to “pivot” away from Chinese tourists. It’s as if there is an alternative source market ready to be plucked at any time.
According to figures cited by Statista.com, tourists from China are one of the main drivers of the international travel industry around the world, and ignoring this fact can only be dangerous for the CNMI’s small tourism industry. In 2019 alone, the number of international travelers from China reached nearly 155 million. This figure dropped during the coronavirus pandemic, but has since rebounded and is expected to reach over 87 million in 2023 and 130 million in 2024. Imagine that: even if the CNMI were to tap into only 0.5% of its international travel market, that would still bring 650,000 tourists to our shores, more than enough to revive the CNMI’s moribund tourism industry.
Yes, yes, the CNMI government would like to develop another sending market in addition to Korea and Japan. But this has been a long-standing mantra in the CNMI without any significant results yet. It is easier said than done, and while I am no travel industry expert, I believe it will take years to create a new sending market. In the meantime, how will businesses that rely on tourists survive while they wait for a new sending market to develop? There are not enough islanders in the CNMI to tide these businesses over until their fever dreams of a new sending market come true.
Hotels can be profitable at 80-90% occupancy, but the biggest and most pressing problem facing the hotel industry today is where to get those tourists from. For better or worse, the Northern Mariana Islands are closer to Asia than they are to North America. No one wants to take a long-haul flight just to get to the beach when there’s one less than two hours away. North American tourists would likely head to the Caribbean or, at best, Puerto Rico if all they wanted was sun, surf, and sand.
Therefore, to attract enough tourists to the CNMI, Asian countries are the best bet, not the US or North American countries. Currently, many Southeast Asian countries are attracting tourists from Korea and China. In fact, some countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, are offering 30-day visa-free travel to tourists from China. That’s where the EVS-TAP program comes in, where the US Department of Homeland Security will first screen all tourists from China before they travel to the CNMI.
As former CNMI Supreme Court Chief Justice Jose S. dela Cruz stated in his June 3, 2024 column, DHS itself will prevent “nuisance” individuals from China posing as bona fide visitors to the CNMI from entering the CNMI, with one caveat: Doesn’t it reek a little of McCarthyism and “Yellow Peril” fear-mongering? Given the Chinese government’s recent heavy-handed actions, it’s entirely understandable where this stringent procedure for Chinese visitors is coming from, but it will be up to DHS to find a balance between protecting the CNMI and providing a lifeline to its stagnant economy.
Commerce’s Harris stated bluntly: “Increased travel and tourism between the United States and China will create jobs, grow our economies, and foster understanding between our peoples.”
Enough said.
To view the full speech by Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Industry Analysis Grant T. Harris, please click here: https://www.trade.gov/feature-article/remarks-assistant-secretary-grant-t-harris-14th-us-china-tourism-leadership-summit?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1jRQn3gDMcCqjkjLKFqzrHNJrrq1TG4VitPmNccwlIu0Ch4UymBbEQUKo_aem_AcZ1JrP12oEf92FuSwSl4FG09bzrWRR2P7XRaIBxo31pHkecskHxv1put00eDsYt_vt1JMd4AeWZAFDnN-M_JMnr.
