February arrivals down 19 percent

The CNMI welcomed a total of 37,228 visitors in February—a 19.69 percent decline when compared with February 2005 figures.

The Marianas Visitors Authority said the decline in seat arrivals and military ship arrivals contributed to the overall decline of visitor arrivals to the CNMI.

Arrivals from China registered a flat growth, which was due primarily to the celebration of Chinese New Year in February. This holiday period is traditionally a peak month for outbound travel in China.

There were two extra flights from China to Saipan due to the high travel demand for the CNMI during the Chinese New Year. For the month of February 2006, arrivals from China totaled 3,849 visitors, which is so far the highest count for FY 2006.

The number of visitor arrivals from South Korea posted a decline of 8 percent when compared with February 2005. This decline was a result of high arrival base in February 2005 due to the tsunami disaster, which occurred in December 2004. In February 2005, travel agents from Korea reported that many travelers diverted their travel plans to the CNMI from Southeast Asia. This created a strong travel demand for the CNMI, which resulted in 10 additional flights from Asiana Airlines.

The CNMI’s primary travel market, Japan, registered a 21-percent decline compared with February 2005. This decline is a result of the reduction of airline seats capacity from this market. However, airline seats from Tokyo, Japan, will increase in April 24, 2006 when Northwest Airlines increase their air services from seven to 10 flights per week using a Boeing 737. The total number of airline seats from Japan will increase by 1,300 seats weekly.

Arrivals from the United States posted 728 visitors in February, a 58-percent decline compared with February 2005. This drop was affected by the non-arrival of military ships.

In February 2005, the CNMI welcomed four military ship arrivals bringing in 1,234 crews, which accounted for 71 percent of the total U.S. arrivals. For the month of February 2006, there was only one military ship arrival, which brought in 142 crew.

“MVA is very excited about the increase in flight services from Japan,” said MVA acting managing director Tess Castro. “Our office continues to work with our travel partners to stimulate travel demand from this market.

“At the same time, we are continuing to increase our marketing efforts in our secondary travel markets such as Korea, China, and the Philippines. These markets play a significant factor for the tourism industry of our destination,” she added. (PR)