NMI’s May visitor arrivals same as May 2013

May 2014 visitor arrivals to the Northern Mariana Islands were nearly the same as May 2013. According to the Marianas Visitors Authority, arrivals to the islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota registered 32,797 visitors in May 2014, compared to 32,913 visitors received in May 2013.

Arrivals from China soared 46 percent to 13,362 visitors, making it the largest source market for the CNMI in May. Century Tours launched two additional charter flights from Beijing to Saipan starting May 1, generating four flights a week from Beijing operated by China Eastern Airlines. In addition, Century Tours and Dynamic Airways launched charter flights from Hong Kong to Saipan on May 18, with a charter flight every five days, which has significantly increased seat capacity from the southern China market.

Arrivals from Russia grew slightly by 3 percent to 968 visitors in April, making Russia the top-performing market so far this fiscal year, with 36 percent growth compared to the same period in fiscal year 2013. Growth recently, however, has slowed as Russia’s economy suffers from the impact of the Ukraine crisis, and outbound travel to all destinations worldwide has slowed dramatically.

Arrivals from Japan fell 21 percent to 7,136 visitors in May. This was driven primarily by a 16-percent decline in air seat supply from Narita, which impacted the Japanese market heavily. Delta Air Lines temporarily suspended two night-flights per week from Narita beginning in April.

Japan continues to suffer from an airlift crisis and urgently needs the entry of a low-cost carrier into the market as seen in the past 12 months in both the Korea and China markets.

Arrivals from Korea were lower for the second consecutive month this fiscal year, registering 21 percent lower in May at 9,075 visitors. Following the Sewol ferry tragedy in April, the number of Korean outbound travelers has fallen significantly as it was not considered appropriate for Koreans to travel outbound on vacation in May in the context of this national tragedy. Meanwhile, Jeju Air, South Korea’s largest low-cost carrier, announced it will launch daily flights to Saipan from Seoul starting Oct. 1, 2014. Jeju Air will use its Boeing 737-800 jets, which can carry up to 189 passengers, adding over 68,000 seats from Korea to the CNMI during the coming year, generating an economic impact for the CNMI of over $122 million.

Economic highlights

The Japan government’s economic assessment for May remains unchanged from the previous month, stating that the Japanese economy is on a “moderate” recovery trend, while some weak movements have been seen lately from the last-minute rise in demand before consumption tax increased in April. The yen hovered around 102 to the U.S. dollar; as of May 29, exchange rates stood at 101.68 yen to the U.S. dollar.

The Korean economy continued to improve as employment and inflation remained stable in April and industrial indicators, which were poor in February, showed some recovery in March. The won/dollar exchange rate fell 10.71 over the past month to be closed at 1,019.47 won per dollar.

The preliminary Purchasing Managers Index for Chinese manufacturing in May beat expectations by posting a five-month high based on a rebound in output and orders. The Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 23 basis points to 6.1542 against the U.S. dollar on May 21, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System. (MVA)