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Tourist arrivals slightly up in July
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Posted on Aug 14 1999
Visitor arrivals for the month of July posted a modest increase of 2 percent, or a total of 43,612, compared to the same period last year, according to the Marianas Visitors Authority.
The summer holiday season in Japan during the months of July and August pushed faltering tourist numbers up from CNMI’s main market, climbing 7 percent for the first time in 18 months.
Japan Airlines brought charter flights from Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka to address the high demand during the period. This led to increased arrivals from Japan’s major market regions: Kanto, 4 percent; Kinki, 18 percent; Tokai, 1 percent; and Kyushu, 99 percent.
As the Korean economy continues to show some signs of recovery, arrival records likewise improved. The number of travelers from Korea registered a triple-digit increase of 108 percent over the same period last year. Direct flights from Korea grew 89 percent from July 1998.
Hong Kong, an alternative market for the CNMI, showed considerable improvement as arrivals soared 41 percent. Arrivals from Taiwan and mainland China went south at 19 percent and 18 percent, respectively.
MVA said the number of tourists from the U.S., including Guam, dropped 48 percent the month, and the tourism office said it may be attributed to a higher base in July 1998 (7,832) as compared to July 1999 (4,089). This double-digit decline from the third largest market kept July’s overall growth at a marginal level, MVA said.
Japanese tour operators are expecting arrivals from Japan to increase further this month because of the summer holiday.
JAL will operate six more charter flights in August and September from Nagoya and Fukuoka to Saipan as part of its ongoing campaign to increase visitor arrivals in the CNMI. JAL said it will be using either DC10 or B767 in these routes.
This developed as passengers carried by JAL last month jumped 139 percent compared to the same period last year. Of this, 11,478 came from Tokyo, while 6,498 came from Osaka.
