Tourism
More on Tourism
Wisconsin Congressman Tom Tiffany [R] has requested the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, to end what he calls “a loophole” that allows Chinese nationals to visit the CNMI without a visa.
“Communist Chinese nationals are exploiting a loophole that allows them to enter the NMI without a visa,” said Tiffany. “Many travel there just to give birth on U.S. soil and secure citizenship for their children.”
But CNMI Delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds said the rule is carved out specifically for the territory as an “economic tool” due to its geography.
Duty Free Saipan Ltd., which operates T Galleria in the tourist district of Garapan, will be closing shop by April 30, 2025, after nearly five decades on Saipan, according to DFS Group Limited, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Gov. Arnold Palacios, and CNMI delegate to Congress, Kimberly King-Hinds.
Rep. Kimberlyn King-Hinds has formally called on the U.S. Department of Transportation to reinstate Annex VI of the U.S.-China Air Transport Agreement, lifting restrictions on scheduled air service between the Northern Mariana Islands and China.
In a letter to newly confirmed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the CNMI delegate stressed the urgent need for federal action to support the CNMI’s economic recovery by restoring unrestricted international flights.