What is it about?
Over the past two decades, the number of Chinese visitors to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) has grown significantly. This increase was driven by China's 2004 ‘Approved Destination Status’ agreement and relaxed U.S. border policies, which made travel easier for Chinese tourists. The article explores how CNMI's tourism industry has become closely tied to China, largely due to U.S. federalization policies that pushed CNMI to seek revenue sources outside the U.S., just as China was expanding its outbound tourism. However, like the garment industry before it, Chinese tourism in CNMI is unstable and could be disrupted by growing geopolitical tensions in the future.
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Why is it important?
This finding is significant because it highlights the economic vulnerability and strategic dependencies of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) on Chinese tourism.
Perspectives
This article provides a better understanding to policymakers in Washington and the academia about the CNMI, US, and China's intricate relationship.
Yuan Zhi Ou
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: What Lies Behind the Increasing Chinese Tourism Presence in the Northern Mariana Islands?, The Journal of Pacific History, October 2024, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/00223344.2024.2393146.
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