昨年から開始した直行チャーター便で急増するパラオの中国人観光客。
観光だけでなく、パラオ社会に大きな影響を与え、政府が４月から便数を減らすとの報道があったが、そんな簡単にな話ではなさそうだ。
ナカムラ元大統領、アラン・シード元国会議員始め有力な指導者４名が中国人観光客削減案を公聴会で反対。
特に大統領の海洋保護区で削減する漁業収入を埋め合わせるために、観光収入は欠かせないと。
また、海洋環境を破壊しているのは地元パラオ人ではないか、との意見も。
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Prominent businessmen speaks out against reduction of charter flights from China
WRITTEN BY JOSE RODRIGUEZ T. SENASE
FRIDAY, 20 MARCH 2015 00:42
Says influx of Chinese visitors is good for Palau
Several prominent business people from this island nation spoke out against the move of the national government to reduce the number of charter flights from Hong Kong and Macau and regulate the number of Chinese visitors, in contrast to the recommendation of Palau Chamber of Commerce, Belau Tourism Association and Palau Visitors Authority.
In a hearing jointly conducted by the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and State Relations chaired by Senator Hokkons Baules and the House Committee on Tourism and Aviation chaired by Delegate Marino Ngemaes, former President Kuniwo Nakamura, realtor Jackson Henry, tour and dive and tour business operator Francis Toribiong, and former Senator Alan Seid said the Chinese “influx” is good for Palau and that reducing the number of charter flights from China is not a good policy.
The hearing venue was full with many business and political leaders present, including President Remengesau.
Nakamura said everyone is benefiting (taxi drivers, boat owners, homeowners, businessmen) from the influx of Chinese visitors.
“It is time to capture the moment, trend. It is the biggest opportunity to seize the moment,” he stressed.
Nakamura said there is no economic basis to cut the number of charter flights.
“If we lose the market, it is difficult to reopen it,” he stated.
He said Palau should be friendly to the Chinese. “Do it positively. Let us come out with friendly tourism policy,” he stressed.
Nakamura then pointed out China’s meteoric rise as an economic powerhouse. “It is now the world’s second largest economy. That is why the Chinese are traveling,” he said.
Nakamura, who served as president of Palau from 1993 to 2001, is connected with some airline companies doing charter flights and also owns the Belau Transfer and Terminal Co. (BASCO).
For his part, Jackson Henry, who also served before as Palau’s Ambassador to Taiwan during the time of former President Johnson Toribiong, said that Palau should not stop progress.
“Let free enterprise takes its course. Let the whole system play out. Don’t stop progress,” he stressed.
Henry said Palau will experience some growth pains, but it would only be temporary.
“In due time we can adjust. In order to progress, we have to undergo pains,” he pointed out.
Henry said that aside from Koror, there are 15 other states that are open for tourism development.
Henry owns and runs Summit Realty, and is one of Palau’s most successful businessmen.
Toribiong, a hall of fame diver and founder of the Fish n’ Fins diving and tour company, disputed the notion that Chinese visitors are doing harm to the environment.
“It is us, locals, who are destroying corals, killing sea turtles, and doing other things harmful to the environment,” he stressed.
Toribiong said Palau needs a strong tourism industry and an income from oil in order to offset the revenue losses if the proposal to create a National Marine Sanctuary pushes through.
“I support the sanctuary proposal. Income from oil and from the tourism industry will supply the needs of the Palau government if we close our EEZ to commercial fishing,” he said.
For his part, former Senator Alan Seid said the influx of Chinese visitors is helping the hotel industry.
Seid, who sits on the Board of the Palasia Hotel, said in the past five years before 2014 Palasia has an average yearly profit of $1 million dollars.
Palasia is one of the top hotels in Palau and is owned by the Kuomintang Party of Taiwan.
“But last year when the Chinese started coming to Palau the hotel recorded a profit of $2.2 million,” he pointed out.
Recently, Minister Charles Obichang of the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Industries and Commerce (MPIIC) wrote a letter to four airline companies (Mega Maldives, Asian Air, Dynamic Airways, and Palau Pacific Airways) flying charter flights to Palau from Hong Kong and Macau informing them of a new landing schedule which would effectively cut the number of charter flights in half. The new schedule is scheduled to become effective starting April 15, 2015.
Mega Maldives, Dynamic Airways, and Palau Pacific Airways fly out of Hong Kong, while Asian Air flies out of Macau. The airlines mostly bring Chinese visitors to Palau.
Obichang justified the move by saying that the rapid influx from a single market has “squeezed Palau’s hotel capacity and strained its infrastructure.”
He said the reduction will also help support airlines that fly regular scheduled flights regardless of the number of its passengers.
This reduction is in response to President Tommy Remengesau’s commitment to develop the administration's vision of high-value tourism industry.
Remengesau was quoted as saying earlier that the move is not to criticize the nation’s Chinese visitors, but rather to alleviate pressure on the local environment and tourism facilities. “It will be irresponsible for me as a leader if this trend continues,” I am not only looking at the present but, as a leader, I am looking after tomorrow,” he said.
In recent month visitors from the People’s Republic of China have dominated Palau tourism arrivals rising from less than 10% of tourist arrivals in 2013 to 61% in 2014. And with lack of rooms to accommodate the increasing number of tourists, key markets such as Japan and Taiwan have declined.
Tourism is Palau’s number one industry. Tourism accounts for close to 85 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
