‘Overstays’ dealt blow to fledgling Russian tourism market

A group of asylum seekers from Russia is what is left of the island’s Russian tourism market, which suffered a major setback after federal immigration officials pulled the plug in late 2019, making it harder for Russians to get here.

The Russian visitors, who are now stuck on the island pending their asylum applications, have announced plans to start a hunger strike on Monday to raise awareness of their immigration concerns.

Too many Russians visiting Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth as part of a special Immigration “probation” agency sought asylum, no fun in the sun, prompting federal officials to terminate the probation service, citing safety concerns.

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More than 5,000 Russians visited Guam in fiscal year 2019 from a total of 1.6 million visitors. The Russian market has seen constant growth every year, with arrivals increasing almost 29% from fiscal 2018.

The pandemic effectively shut down Guam’s entire tourism industry in early 2020, but former Guam Visitors Bureau board member Bart Jackson said he believed Russia is still a viable market despite stricter immigration regulations. Jackson was responsible for the board’s Russia and New Markets committee.

“I have no doubt that the Far East Russian market has some catching up to do to come to Guam,” said Jackson.

Most of the Russians who came to the island while on parole were first-time visitors, according to reports from the Visitor’s Office, and their preferred location was the Hilton Guam Resort & Spa. About two-thirds of Russian visitors were married, and most, 63%, were between 25 and 39 years old.

Jackson said Guam officials campaigned for a parole board for both Russia and China and were disappointed when only the Russian parole board was granted. However, he said Russians tend to spend more money than Chinese tourists and stay here longer, making one Russian tourist worth about five Chinese tourists in terms of economic benefits.

The problem with the parole board, Jackson said, is that it can be removed with the stroke of a pen, without legislation, and without Guam’s petitions.

“Nobody told us why it happened,” he said. “It just happened.”

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Temporary measure

According to the federal government, the probation authority that allowed Russians to visit Guam and the CNMI should be temporary until Russia is included in the existing Guam / CNMI visa waiver program. The visa waiver allows citizens of eligible countries to travel to Guam and CNMI for up to 45 days without a US visa for business, pleasure, or transit travel.

The discretionary probation program began in November 2009 for Russians attending the CNMI and was expanded to include Guam in January 2012.

“The Guam-CNMI probation policy for Russian nationals was designed as a temporary measure in support of tourism in Guam and the CNMI, with due consideration given to Russia as a potential participating country under the (Guam / CNMI Visa Waiver Program),” it said Homeland Security Department stated in October 2019 when it officially announced its plan to end. “In the nearly ten years since the probation policy was announced, Russia has not been considered eligible for the (program).”

According to the Homeland Security Service, the probation service was used “far too widely than originally intended,” with around 85% of Russian tourists on Guam using the probation service in 2017.

“Since the expansion of discretionary powers for Russian nationals wishing to enter Guam in 2012, overnight stays have increased from 26 in fiscal 2012 to 147 in 2017, or 465%. While this represents a relatively small percentage of total Russian visitors to CNMI and Guam, the increase in overnight stays is in and of itself a safety concern, ”the department stated.

Russians now need to get a tourist or business visa to visit Guam. According to the Homeland Security Service, most of these types of visas are legal and would allow Russians to stay in the country for much longer than 45 days.

Asylum seekers

About 200 Russians who came to the island years ago while the probation service was still in place are still here to seek asylum, according to representatives of the group.

One of their main concerns is that they are stuck in Guam, not allowed to move and live elsewhere in the country while their asylum applications are being examined. They said they fled persecution in Russia.

“We have been trying for months to end violations of our right to free movement. Many of us are desperate and hopeless,” the group said in a written statement, announcing its plans to start a March 1 hunger strike.

“Our repeated attempts to exercise our right to freedom of movement and choice of residence, that is, when attempting to board a Guam-Honolulu domestic flight, kept us blocked,” the group said. “The aim of the hunger strike is” to put an end to violations of our right to freedom of movement “.

The US citizenship and immigration authorities declined to comment on the Russian asylum seekers on the island.