No more visas for Korean visitors

Tomorrow is the first day Koreans will no longer need a visa to visit the United States, but local agencies and organizations are hoping that the CNMI will remain a go-to destination for Koreans hoping to save money.

The Marianas Visitor’s Authority anticipates an initial rush to the mainland and Hawaii but thinks the numbers will taper off, and Saipan will continue to attract its own unique visitors, said Perry Tenorio, managing director of MVA.

According to the MVA, 8,715 Koreans visited the Commonwealth in October.

The weakening of the Korean won might play a factor whether Koreans will travel to Hawaii or to the CNMI and Guam, Tenorio said.

The MVA’s offshore office said the visa waiver would not affect Korean package tours, which account for 80 percent of Korean arrivals to the CNMI, because that market is different than the market traveling to the U.S. mainland.

However, the CNMI’s Korean honeymoon market will be affected because U.S. destinations will more aggressively target high-spending honeymooners, Tenorio was told by the MVA’s offshore market.

The waiver program might cause a little bit more competition for the CNMI, but it shouldn’t greatly affect the Korean visitor numbers because Saipan is closer, said Lynn Knight, chairwoman for the Hotel Association of Northern Marianas Islands.

A flight to the United States is a long haul and very expensive, she said.

“I think we’ll always have the advantage of close proximity,” she added. “You know people are concerned about money now.”

Visitors that want a shorter, less expensive vacation will continue to visit the CNMI, Knight said.

Additional flights recently added by Asiana Airlines also add appeal to Saipan, Knight said. In October, Asiana added three flights from Seoul, bringing the total number of Asiana flights from Korea to 18 weekly.

But Simon Sin, publisher of the Korean newspaper, The Saipan Times, said Saipan would now be less favorable to Koreans than before.

“The visa waiver will have more tourists go to the mainland of the USA, definitely,” he said. “We expect tour companies will be booming in terms of business, because many Korean people want to go to the mainland. Some couldn’t get a visa for the mainland. Many people felt it was too difficult because of the long lines for interviews in Seoul, but since the visa waiver program was implemented maybe people will go to mainland.”

Lee Shen of Hyatt’s marketing and communications division said she’s sure the visa waiver program will hurt the hotel’s Korean visitor numbers.

“It’s not really good news for us because this year compared to last year the Korean market has increased,” she said. “But if they start a waiver they might go to Hawaii. I don’t think any hotel here will think it’s a good idea.”

South Korea is one of seven countries that will join the visa waiver program tomorrow. The other countries are Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary and Slovakia.

Under the visa waiver program, citizens of these countries will be able to travel to the United States for short visits without the need to first secure a visa. All they need to show is a passport and a roundtrip ticket. Travelers must also have a biometric passport and fill out a travel authority form online.