NMI July arrivals down 23 pct.

July 2011 visitor arrivals to the Northern Mariana Islands were down 23 percent compared to July 2010.

According to the Marianas Visitors Authority, arrivals to the islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota registered 27,203 visitors in July compared to 35,164 in July 2010. Overall, visitor arrivals are down 7 percent this fiscal year to 279,195 visitors.

Arrivals from Japan dropped 39 percent to 10,151. In addition to travel being dampened by the March 2011 earthquake, in July 2011 the NMI received only two daily flights from Narita compared to three daily flights in July 2010. Delta Air Lines also suspended its daily flight from Nagoya to Saipan. As a result, the NMI had only 13,939 available airseats from Japan compared to 25,041 airseats in July 2010. Overall arrivals from Japan this fiscal year are down 17 percent.

Meanwhile, arrivals from the primary market of Korea dropped 17 percent in July to 8,997 arrivals. Available airseats were down 21 percent in July due to Asiana Airlines’ reduction in daytime flights from Seoul and temporary suspension of flights from Busan. However, despite the recent downtrend in arrivals from Korea, overall arrivals from Korea this fiscal year-to-date are unchanged from 2010.

The secondary market of China saw 4,898 arrivals in July, a 9-percent increase compared to the same month last year. Arrivals from China are also up 9 percent overall this fiscal year.

Arrivals from Russia continued their year-to-year growth streak that began in December 2010, posting a gain of 20 percent in July 2011 to 450 visitors. The lucrative market is up 19 percent overall this fiscal year.

The MVA also reported a 966 percent growth in arrivals from Hong Kong in July to 341 visitors. This follows a 2,000-plus percent increase in May 2011 and a 1,500-plus percent increase in June. The increase follows the launching of direct Hong Kong-Saipan flights by Fly Micronesia in May.

Guam posted a 1-percent increase in arrivals to 1,476 in July, while arrivals from other markets were down: United States (-39 percent to 577), Philippines (-29 percent to 30), and Other Areas (-44 percent to 192). Beginning July 2011, the MVA has begun including Taiwan arrivals under Other Areas due to the low number of visitors from that market.

Japan’s Economic Cabinet upgraded its economic outlook in its July 2011 report.

Throughout the month of July, the yen rapidly increased in value against both the euro and the U.S. dollar, due to the perceived relative stability of the Japanese currency.

Japan Travel Bureau Foundation, a non-profit organization that studies Japanese overseas travel trends, had predicted last December that the number of passengers in 2011 would increase 4.0 percent to 17.3 million. In July, JTBF revised this forecast to a 2.3 percent drop to 16.25 million, citing the correlation between the earthquake’s effects on the Japanese economy and outbound travel.

Travel Vision, one of Japan’s leading travel industry publications, conducted a survey of travel agents to learn booking patterns for summer travel and concluded the market is no longer affected by the earthquake. Travel Vision’s results also supported JTBF’s assessment that there is a shift toward making bookings online, and Travel Vision observed the theme for many products this summer is “cheap, close, long duration.”

Meanwhile, Korea’s real gross domestic product grew 3.4 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, the lowest level of improvement since the third quarter of 2009 when it grew 1 percent, the Bank of Korea said. The won/dollar exchange rate slid 4.2 in June 2011 to close at 1,052.8.

According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the number of Korean outbound travelers in June was 1,053,658, an increase of 5.6 percent compared to the same month in 2010. The total number of Korean outbound travelers from January to June was 6,163,883, an increase of 3.9 percent compared to the same period of 2010. A record number of South Korean people are expected to enjoy their vacation overseas this summer. The travel industry is enjoying a boom amid the scorching weather, which has followed the end of the annual rainy season. (MVA)