Yes, thats True ! There are plans to create a " Next Bali " , and the name is "Saipan" - A resort island that is a approx. six-hour flight away from Brisbane , aims to become a new hub for the Australian travellers deprived of much needed sunshine.
Neil Hansford, who is an airline veteran in 'freighter domain and aviation consulting' , believes that Saipan would be an obvious choice for COVID-safe travel.
For the last one year, Hansford has been on the Job , efforts are being made to set up an airline called 'Marianas Pacific' to fly to COVID-safe destinations like Saipan, including Australia.
Chairman of Marianas Pacific, Neil Hansford, says it’s likely health authorities will allow Australians to travel to Saipan far earlier than other popular tourist destinations like Indonesia or the Philippines, due to the island’s success managing COVID-19.
“They have an excellent resort structure there with over 3000 rooms,” he told Ross and Russel. “The economy is dependent on tourism so they’re doing something to get their way out of it.”
The website of the Upcoming Airline reads ,
Marianas Pacific Airlines is a new international consumer airline in its formative stages. Locally owned and operated, the CNMI based full-service passenger and cargo airline will bring the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI) to Australasia and North East Asia, forging new trade opportunities for tourism, export and import businesses while facilitating the travel for essential services for the people of CNMI.
Hansford adds ,
“It’s the same distance (from Brisbane) as Bali, it has the same quality of hotels, the same sort of resorts, better diving, English is the main language, and they’re in the same time zone as us.”
“They don’t drink Australian wine yet – we’d like to change that. There’s American wine and beer and plenty of nightlife but it’s a family place, not a cesspit,” he said, adding that hotel rates were on par with Bali.
The Airline believes , With the backing of the island’s governor, Ralph Torres, the carrier will start with Boeing 757s aircrafts between Saipan and South Korea, with hopes to operate from Brisbane once a travel bubble can be established.
Pictures : Marianas Pacific Airlines.
