CNMI sees over 4,000 TRIP passengers as of December

As of last week, the CNMI has already seen nearly 5,000 travelers from South Korea who are participating in the Marianas Visitors Authority’s Tourism Resumption Investment Program, or TRIP.

According to acting MVA managing director Judy Torres, from October to Dec. 16, a total of 4,834 South Koreans have visited the CNMI under the TRIP Program.

Breaking it down, Torres said the CNMI had a total of 1983 tourists in October, 2,121 in November, and 730 TRIP participants from Dec. 1 to 16.

She noted that the CNMI did have a significant number of cancellations due to the spread of the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus but the TRIP program has been relatively successful so far. She declined to provide specific numbers on the cancellations.

“We are seeing that the spread of the new omicron variant is causing a concerning number of booking cancellations, so the MVA board will need to revisit TRIP to evaluate what changes may be needed to continue to support the continued revival of tourism and job security for the community,” she said.

Fortunately, despite the cancellations, the CNMI is heading down the right track in jumpstarting tourism with a number of TRIP participants now opting to pay for their own lodging.

“On a positive note, we have been receiving some visitors who have been paying their own hotel accommodations since the hybrid-quarantine requirement under TRIP was lifted last month,” she said.

Also, Torres said MVA will be reducing travel buck incentives from up to $250-$500/person per island to just $100/person at a flat rate, which she described as another step in the right direction in reviving the tourism industry.

“Travel Bucks, which can only be spent in the Marianas, are still necessary for the Marianas to remain competitive with competing destinations—like Guam—which are offering similar incentives but to the airlines.  We plan to continue to provide PCR tests required for the passenger’s return to Korea. I should note that prior to omicron, airline incentives have not been utilized for any flight in October and November,” she said.  

Moving forward, Torres said, MVA is looking at the continued success of the program now that it has been extended to January 2022.

“With the successful jumpstart of the Marianas tourism economy through the TRIP program, the outlook for continued gains had been positive for the new year. This included the anticipated doubling of flights from South Korea to Saipan from three times weekly to six-time weekly beginning in early January,” she said.