Japan arrivals up 9 pct.

Visitors arrivals to the CNMI in February were 8 percent lower compared to February 2017 but the silver lining is that Japanese arrivals went up, breaking a streak of successive declines in arrivals from the Japan market.

According to the Marianas Visitors Authority, arrivals to the islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota registered 53,045 visitors in February 2018, compared to 57,320 visitors received in February 2017.

Arrivals from Japan climbed 9 percent higher than February 2017 to 4,725 visitors. While Delta Lines has announced it will discontinue its Tokyo Narita-Saipan daily flight in early May 2018, the MVA is currently in confidential negotiations with several airlines to pick up the route or expand to other cities in the source market.

“We are very optimistic about ongoing airline negotiations for future service from Japan to Saipan, and we are pleased to announce that we have a Japan-based carrier who has expressed solid interest in launching direct flights from two cities in Japan to the Marianas toward the third or fourth quarter of this year. They did a site inspection of the [Francisco C. Ada] International Airport and met with key stakeholders last month, and everything looks positive,” said MVA managing director Christopher A. Concepcion.

“We have been working diligently and creatively over the last year and half to revitalize the image of the Marianas in the Japan market, and we are hopeful for an uptick in the market this year,” Concepcion added. “The MVA has not rested and will not rest until we have an airline ready to fly from Japan to the Marianas. We are excited about this new carrier and look to them as our long-term partner for the Japan market. Through our efforts, the efforts of Gov. [Ralph DLG] Torres and other leaders, and with the new incentive program approved by the Commonwealth Ports Authority for new entrants and new routes, we are very hopeful about the future of the Japan market. We expect arrivals from Japan to finally see growth this year.”

Arrivals from Korea fell 26 percent to 22,365 visitors, largely due to the suspension of Incheon-Saipan service by Eastar Jet and Busan-Saipan service by Asiana Airlines since October 2017. Asiana Airlines operated chartered flights for two months in 2017, January and February, which also attributed to a decrease in arrivals year-on-year. The airlines serving Incheon-Saipan are Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air, and T’way Air. Jin Air has temporarily suspended its Incheon-Saipan service until June 2018.

Arrivals from China jumped 20 percent compared to February 2017 to 23,456 visitors, allowing the market to outperform Korea for the first month this fiscal year. The popular Lunar New Year holiday travel period landed in February this year versus January in 2017. In addition, recent volcanic eruptions in Bali and domestic conflict in the Maldives have also driven more visitors to the Marianas versus these competing beach destinations.

Economic highlights
Recent economic indicators point to a weakening Korean economy being shored up largely by an increase in exports. Business sentiment is pessimistic as manufacturing and construction sectors suffer setbacks. The average USD/won exchange rate in February was 1,080.07 won, a slight increase from the previous rate of 1,064.29 won in January.

In 2017, the number of Chinese citizens traveling abroad was 130.51 million, with an increase of 7.0 percent over the past year. The exchange rate stabilized during February perhaps signaling a bottom at around 6.3 RMB to USD.

Strong global economic dynamics and accommodative monetary conditions led the Japanese economy to expand for the eighth consecutive quarter in the fourth quarter, marking the longest period of uninterrupted growth since 1980. Monthly average rate for the U.S. dollar to the Japanese yen exchange in February 2018 was 107.98 compared to 111.07 in January 2018. (MVA)