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Saipan, Rota arrivals up, Tinian’s down
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Posted on May 14 2008
Arrivals to Saipan and Rota increased in April 2008, while less tourists visited Tinian during the same period, according to the latest report from the Marianas Visitors Authority.
Saipan welcomed a total of 31,174 tourists last month, a 21-percent increase from the 25,856 that visited the CNMI capital in April 2007.
MVA’s No. 1 source market, Japan, witnessed an 8-percent rise in arrivals to 15,281 from 14,195. South Korea continued to post double-digit growth, posting a 41-percent increase in arrivals to 8,740 from 6,196.
Russians also flocked to Saipan last month, growing by 42 percent to 403 from 283 a year ago. The “others” market showed a 1 percent rise, while China (-20 percent), Guam (-1 percent), United States (-6 percent), the Philippines (-69 percent), and Taiwan (-95 percent) all performed poorly in April 2008.
Rota, for its part, saw a 32-percent spike in visitor arrivals in April 2008 to 626 compared to the 427 that came to the southernmost part of the CNMI chain in April 2007.
The Japanese again led the charge with an 85-percent surge to 458 from 247 a year ago. Guam arrivals were the only other market that grew, increasing to 142 from 137 in April 2007, or a 4-percent jump.
China (-67 percent), U.S. (-14 percent), and “others” (-83 percent) all posted negative growth.
Tinian saw visitor arrivals stumbled 15 percent as only 3,006 came to the CNMI’s treasure island in April 2008, compared to 3,539 in April 2007.
Visitors from China (-30 percent) and the U.S. (-23 percent) posted the biggest decrease, while South Korea was the lone bright spot with its 57-percent increase in tourist arrivals.
CNMI-wide, arrivals soared 20.98 percent to 31,800 tourists in April 2008 compared to the 26,286 that came and visited the Commonwealth in April 2007.
The nearly 21-percent rise in visitor arrivals is the first time in months the islands experienced double-digit growth in its tourist industry and the spike is the highest in recent years.
