Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | 38 Guam, it is 45 minutes on a prop plane to Saipan. Direct charter flights are also being organized from major Chinese cities. The initial and main draw of Saipan is the sand and sun. CNMI, likemany Pacific islands, is blessed with pure waters and pollution- free skies. There has been very little industry in the group, and a population that’s never been above 100,000 has put relatively little stress on the environment. What’s available on Saipan is hard to find in Asia, even in places like Thailand—and in many cases, the azure waters in the region require local air or boat connections to access. On Saipan, the main beach is 10 minutes from the airport. For Chinese travelers especially, CNMI is attractive. The numbers indicate increasing interest. In March 2013, Chinese visitors totaled 9,021, up 33% on year. Charter flights were being organized from Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing as of early this year. CNMIispartoftheUS,butunderaspecial program visitors from China and Russia are allowed to visit the islands visa-free for 45 days (they must have a confirmed round- trip ticket). A separate Guam-Saipan visa waiver program adds a few more countries and territories to the list, including Hong Kong and Taiwan. A chance to visit the US without going through the expensive, complicated and sometimes unsuccessful process of applying for a US visa can be a strong draw. Years ago, a similar loophole attracted Japanese tourists who wanted to get quick and easy exposure to a US destination and a chance to buy products, especially alcohol, duty-free. The commonwealth is desperately in need of tourist and gaming dollars. Over the past few decades, its economy has been hit on all fronts. Japanese tourists stopped coming in great numbers about a decade ago. As they became wealthier and gained rights to travel visa-free to more exotic destinations, and as prices came down in Japan, they were less inclined to visit Saipan. Japan Airlines stopped direct service in 2005. The Asian economic crisis, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the Great Recession of 2008 kept tourists from coming from other destinations and replacing the Japanese. The overall decline has been dramatic. Since hitting a peak of 726,690 in 1997, total tourist arrivals fell to a low of 369,012 in 2011. Saipan was also hit hard by the collapse of its textile industry. Up until 2009, the local government had autonomy over immigration policy. While part of the US, the government of CNMI was able to issue its own visas. It was also free to set its own minimum wage (US$3.05 an hour until 2007). This led to companies establishing clothing factories in Saipan, bringing in cheap labor from poor Asian countries and manufacturing products labeled “Made in the USA.” That abruptly ended after a series of articles and documentaries exposed sweatshop conditions in CNMI. The federal government took over immigration policy and required the minimum wage to converge with the federal rate over a number of years (the minimum wage is now $5.05 an hour in CNMI). The closure of the sweatshops caused the economy to collapse. In 2008, GDP fell 12.1%. The following year, it dropped 19.8%, accordingtotheBureauofEconomicAnalysis. The population dropped as well. It fell 22.2% between 2000 and 2010, though the drop The commonwealth is desperately in need of tourist and gaming dollars. Over the past few decades, its economy has been hit on all fronts. Many people go to the island because of its unspoiled beauty and gaming could negatively affect the image of the place. In FOCUS