‘More flights, hotel rooms keys to boosting Japan arrivals’

Securing low cost carriers that will fly to the Commonwealth and adding more hotel rooms are key to boosting Japanese arrivals to the islands, according to Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Perry Tenorio.

Tenorio

In response to lawmakers’ call to rebuild the Japan market during MVA’s meeting with the 19th Legislature on Monday, Tenorio said that securing more flights and building more hotels could help boost tourist arrivals from the islands’ once No. 1 source market.

“The key to rebuilding Japanese arrivals is to secure new flights, particularly from Osaka and Nagoya, which used to be important source markets for the CNMI. With the rise of low-cost carriers in Japan, MVA is targeting all the major low-cost carriers to launch new service to the CNMI, just as Jeju Air has done from Korea. This will be the single most important key to rebuilding arrivals from Japan back to record heights,” Tenorio told Saipan Tribune.

The other is to ensure that the CNMI has enough hotel rooms to accommodate the added tourist traffic.

“With soaring arrival numbers from Korea and China, total visitor arrivals to the CNMI last month were at record levels and more than replaced the declines we are seeing from Japan and Russia. The current new development of hotel rooms in the CNMI is urgently needed to allow us to rebuild arrivals from Japan back to historic levels,” Tenorio said.

The peak of Japanese arrivals to the CNMI was in 2005 with 352,099 visitors, just before Japan Airlines cancelled flights to the Commonwealth.

The lack of airlift to replace the lost Japan Airlines service from Osaka and Narita and the lost Delta Air Lines service from Nagoya meant that CNMI arrival numbers from Japan have fallen steadily since then.

The Fukushima earthquake and tsunami in 2011 and the consumption tax hike in April 2014 also significantly impacted Japanese visitor numbers, reaching a low of 110,234 visitors to the CNMI last year, according to Tenorio.

2015 initiatives

MVA is launching a variety of public relations and marketing programs in Japan in order to start rebuilding arrivals, including airlift development, re-branding, and visibility.

According to Tenorio, MVA has appointed an airline specialist within MVA Japan to work aggressively with all potential low-cost carriers in Japan to have them consider the CNMI as their next new destination.

The results of a Japan market research also showed a need to rebrand and refresh the CNMI’s destination image in Japan.

The MVA’s key rebranding vehicle is the “Flower Islands” branding, which is currently being developed, and MVA is working with all the major travel agents in Japan to launch new “Flower Island” packages and promotions, including trade familiarization tours and training programs throughout Japan.

Another is positioning the CNMI as the “Sports Islands,” targeting the active outdoors enthusiasts and the sports enthusiasts seeking to participate in events such as the Saipan Marathon.

“We continue to maximize exposure for the CNMI through a wide range of trade and PR with a variety of key stakeholders including Japan Saipan Travel Association, Hotel Association of the Northern Marianas Islands, Japan Marianas Tourism Club, and the MVA’s Japan Adhoc committee as well as the Micronesia-Kai that includes planning managers of wholesalers and airline partners in Japan,” Tenorio said.