Sluggish Japanese arrivals alarm MVA

Alarmed by the destination’s sluggish performance in the Japan market, the Marianas Visitors Authority resolved yesterday to revamp its marketing strategy and strengthen ties with major players of Japan’s tourism industry.

The MVA board of directors expressed concern that visitor arrivals from Japan not only failed to show remarkable increases in recent months, they also posted decline during the past two months.

Japan arrivals reached only 34,015 in December 2004, a 2-percent decrease compared with December 2003. In the month before that, the Northern Marianas received only 30,454 Japanese tourists, 9 percent less than the figure in the same month last year.

According to the MVA management, the decline was caused by Japan Airlines’ move to downsize the aircraft used for its Tokyo-Saipan flights and Continental Airlines’ termination of its Nagoya-Saipan flights.

As a result, the number of seats available for Japanese travelers visiting the islands went down from 52,156 in December 2003, to 43,184 as of last month.

“Arrivals from Japan seem to have leveled off. The numbers have been the same for a long time. There must be something we’re doing wrong. I think we’ve got to show our face more often to the marketplace. Otherwise, they will forget us,” said MVA chair David Sablan.

He instructed MVA managing director Vicky Benavente to immediately organize a Japan trip, and ask Babauta administration officials and lawmakers to lead a CNMI delegation in paying courtesy visits to key tourism industry players in Japan, including Japan Airlines, Northwest Airlines, and the JTB Corp. travel group.

Sablan also bared plans to invite top management officials from Japan’s tourism industry to speak in an economic summit being organized by the Saipan Chamber of Commerce.

Board member JM Guerrero recommended that management meet with major travel groups in Japan to discuss how MVA can improve its marketing strategy.

“We should sit down with JTB and ask them how we can help them achieve their target for outbound travelers, and then tailor our marketing plan based on that,” Guerrero said.

For his part, board member B.K. Park stressed that it is important to continue promoting the destination in Japan, despite the great promise held by the emerging China market.

“Japan will be our major market for years,” Park said.