TRIP Japan off to a slow start

The program to restart Japanese tourism to the CNMI, which officially launched last Sept. 1, is off to a slow start, with the numbers of inbound tourists being less than what was anticipated at the start of the program.

This was learned during the Marianas Visitors Authority’s annual membership meeting last week at the Pacific Islands Club Saipan, during which Takashi Ichikura, MVA Japan Office head and Access Inc., president, disclosed that the Japan TRIP program has been slow. To give a picture of how slow the market’s recovery has been, he explained that compared to 2019, Japanese tourism in the Marianas is down 80%. He could not give an exact number at the time.

“At this moment, Japan’s outbound tourism is very slow, recovery is very slow. Industry partners and professionals are saying that by the end of this year, Japan tourism is probably is going to be, compared to 2019, down 80%. So, that’s where we are at this moment,” he said.

For the first two months of the Japan TRIP program, only a limited number of seats were filled—about 30% load factor, Ichikura said.

“So, the first a couple of months, September and October, we had a very limited number of Japanese customers flying here. It was a daunting process, but we have started to understand what works for the Japan market,” he said.

Ichikura explained that the slow start can be attributed to different factors, mainly the lingering fears to travel, and the low vaccination rate among children.

“There are several market conditions that we are facing with our Japan customers. First of all is the apprehension to travel, even though [the] vaccination rate is high amongst the general consumers, especially active seniors—over 90%. But keep in mind, the Marianas used to be a family market. Unfortunately, families with small children between the ages 5 and 11, vaccination is very limited. So parents are afraid to bring their kids here,” he said.

Ichikura also noted that due to inflation, the Japanese yen is about 30% weaker now in the U.S. compared to previous years, causing Japanese tourists to find other destinations to travel to.

“Another challenge is the pricing, the exchange rate in comparison to three years ago. The Japanese yen is weak [by] approximately 30%,” he said.

Despite these challenges, Ichikura said the MVA office in Japan continues to work with travel partners to further market the CNMI destination and provides promotion to entice Japanese travelers to come to Saipan.

“The MVA TRIP Japan committee has started to provide a thank you promotion where we offer a discount on group packages. This has been helping to pick up numbers in November, December. So not as fast as Korea recovery, but we are gradually picking up. We are hopeful by the end of this month, we will fill at least 60% load factor,” he said.