Arrivals sink 85% in March

Arrivals to the islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota dropped 85% to just 5,226 visitors last March, compared to 35,295 visitors posted in March 2019.

According to Marianas Visitors Authority numbers released yesterday, arrivals from China dropped from 16,558 arrivals to only 65 arrivals in March 2020.

Arrivals from Korea dropped 82% year-on-year to 2,450 visitors in March 2020 following the cancellation of the last of direct flights from Korea to the Marianas in mid-March.

Meanwhile, visitor arrivals from Japan fell 19% to 1,685 visitors, with lone carrier Skymark Airlines, Inc. ending direct flights on March. 25, 2020.

Economic highlights

South Korea issued a “special travel advisory” on March 23, 2020, calling on its citizens to cancel or postpone their trips abroad over the spread of the new coronavirus, the foreign ministry said. The special travel advisory applies to all countries except those that are already under higher alerts that call for withdrawal of citizens or are subject to a travel ban. It is valid for the next four weeks unless it is extended.

Meanwhile, the travel industry is veering ever closer to mass bankruptcy as the coronavirus scare keeps Koreans at home. Even Korea’s No. 1 and 2 players, Hana Tour and Mode Tour, now say they could face closures, while many smaller enterprises are already closing up shop. Hana Tour saw the number of bookings last month plummet 84.8% while Mode Tour suffered a 77% decline as tourists shunned package tours to China, Japan and Southeast Asia.

In February 2020, the consumer price index in China went up by 5.2% year on year, while food prices increased by 21.9%. Chinese airline passenger numbers slumped by 84.5% in February, highlighting the huge economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. China also tightened outbound and inbound flights, with the Civil Aviation Administration of China announcing each domestic and foreign airline are allowed to operate one route from/to China, with no more than one flight per week. However, a survey by China Tourism Academy and Trip.com released on March 20 shows a domestic tourism rebound is expected to begin soon. If the coronavirus is totally under control, 43% of interviewees said they would travel within the country in the first half of this year, with 16% choosing May, followed by June, July, and August (15% each).

The unemployment rate in Japan climbed to 2.4% in January 2020 from 2.2% in the previous month, amid renewed economic weakness and calls for stimulus to combat declining global growth as the coronavirus outbreak intensifies. Japan National Tourism Organization announced that the number of Japanese overseas travelers was down 14.2% year on year to 1.316,800 in February 2020. The Japan government decided on March 23 to impose entry restrictions on travelers from the United States, including Japanese, after increasing the warning level for the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (PR)