NMI 2015 February visitor arrivals up 4 percent

February 2015 visitor arrivals to the Northern Mariana Islands rose 4 percent compared to February 2014. According to the Marianas Visitors Authority, arrivals to the islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota registered 42,921visitors in February 2015, compared to 41,311 visitors received in February 2014.

Arrivals from Korea soared 22 percent in February to 13,536 visitors. Jeju Air is planning to launch an additional daily flight to Saipan from Incheon from March 29 using a Boeing 737-800 with 186 seats, bringing an additional 67,890 seats to the NMI and ensuring extremely rapid growth in Korean arrivals for the remainder of this year.

Arrivals from China also soared 24 percent in February to 18,905 visitors due to the 7-day Lunar New Year holiday in February. Almost all flights from China to the CNMI were fully sold out long before the holiday. National television network CCTV-5 also broadcast a major nationwide reality show “Is It Possible in 7 Days?” which chose Saipan as the subject of its “Is It Possible to Learn Diving in 7 Days?” program. The resulting three-part, 135-minute network television feature was broadcast in February, which significantly boost visibility for the CNMI among target Chinese travelers.

Arrivals from Japan fell 24 percent to 8,485 visitors in February as Asiana Airlines’ suspension of Saipan services from Osaka for January to March impacted the Japan market very heavily, resulting in a 43.2-percent decrease in air sea supply in February. In addition, major Japanese travel agencies were unable to secure hotel rooms over the Lunar New Year period due to the rapid increase in Chinese arrivals and were hesitant to launch promotions during the February period given the lack of hotel rooms. The MVA launched a variety of campaigns in February targeting the summer market, including the Happy Children in Paradise campaign; the new International Festival of Cultures campaign; participating in the Japan Golf Fair to continue to position the CNMI as a world-class golf destination; bringing a leading Japanese dive media outlet to the CNMI in February to feature Saipan, Tinian, and Rota as world-class dive destinations for Japanese divers; and finalizing plans with Asiana to send five charter flights to the CNMI in August.

Arrivals from Russia fell 90 percent to 110 visitors in February as a result of the suspension of direct flights in August. The MVA is launching discount campaigns to the CNMI from Far East Russia throughout summer 2015 to begin rebuilding the Russian market in the face of severe economic pressures.

Economic highlights

The Japanese government kept its economic assessment unchanged for the month of February 2015; however, it also noted that consumers are beginning to become optimistic, citing the government’s economic survey in January that showed the outlook diffusion index had risen for the first time in five months. The employment situation in Japan was also rated higher for the first time in 12 months. During the month of February, the yen remained virtually unchanged against the U.S. dollar at 118.59.

The growth rate for Korea’s 2014 export volume was 4.4 percent, well above the 3.1 percent average level of global trade growth. The South Korean won/dollar exchange rate rose 3.63 won over the past month to close at 1,101.69 against the U.S. dollar.

A Chinese Academy of Sciences think tank predicts the economy will develop steadily in 2015, with GDP expanding by an estimated 7.2 percent, consisting of 7.1 percent growth in the first half and 7.3 percent in the second half. The value of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened by 54 basis points to 6.1384 against the U.S. dollar in its central parity rate, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System. (MVA)