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September 2014 visitor arrivals up 5 percent
Fiscal year 2014 visitor arrivals up 2 percent
Tourists from Guam take pictures of the Forbidden Island. September 2014 visitor arrivals to the Northern Mariana Islands jumped 5 percent compared to September 2013. (Haidee V. Eugenio)
For fiscal year 2014, visitor arrivals grew two percent. For the first time in NMI tourism history, visitors from China surpassed other markets, comprising 36 percent of total visitor arrivals, a 40-percent increase over fiscal year 2013. Visitors from Korea dipped 3 percent compared to the previous year, comprising 30 percent of arrivals. Japan dropped 23 percent, comprising 26 percent of total visitor arrivals. Meanwhile, visitors arrivals from Russia grew 26 percent in fiscal year 2014 to comprise three percent of arrivals.
In terms of September performance, arrivals from China grew 41 percent to 13,769 visitors, making China the largest source market for the NMI for the eighth consecutive month. The MVA worked with Century Tours and Modern Bride Magazine to arrange a major media shoot on Saipan and Tinian with the Wang Luodan, one of the most famous actresses in China in a continuing push to position the NMI as a world class wedding and honeymoon destination for Chinese couples.
Arrivals from Japan fell 10 percent to 9,119 visitors in September. After the eight flight cancellations in August due to pilot working hour requirements imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration, Delta Air Lines operated its morning flight (DL298) and night flight (DL288) on a daily basis in September, serving 10,440 seats in total.
Arrivals from Korea dropped 11 percent in September to 9,602 visitors. Some Korean travelers postponed travel to the NMI in September given Jeju Air’s inaugural flight to Saipan launching on Oct. 1with an “Early Bird Promotion” offering low fares in October. With the new Jeju Air flight, it is expected that arrivals from Korea will continue to grow. In the meantime, Asiana Airlines established a new Korea Regional headquarters in September to handle not only Seoul but also other secondary cities in Korea, paving the way for faster and more flexible decision-making at the Seoul sales office.
Arrivals from Russia fell 65 percent to 182 visitors in September following the suspension of direct flights in August. The MVA is now working with other airline partners and with leading travel agencies to restore direct non-stop flight service from Russia to the NMI. The MVA is also working closely with Asiana on joint promotions to boost travel from East Russia on one-stop flights to the NMI via Seoul and to maintain the visibility of the NMI as a destination of choice during off-peak fall season..
Economic highlights
The Japanese government downgraded its assessment of the economy in its September report for the first time in five months, saying it is weighed down by a decrease in personal spending due to unstable weather such as typhoons and heavy rains. The yen depreciated against the dollar, from 103.97 yen to the dollar at the end of August, to 109.42 yen as of Sept. 29.
Korea’s domestic economy activities have shown signs of gradual improvement, although the pace of recovery has been moderate. The Korean economy is forecast to gradually improve in the coming months in line with global economic recovery. The won/dollar exchange rate rose 50.26 over the past month to close at 995.98 won against the U.S. dollar. South Korea’s won completed its biggest monthly loss since May 2012.
China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported August’s retail sales grew 11.9 percent year-on-year to $343.3-billion. The value of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened by 28 basis points to 6.1453 against the U.S. dollar, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System. Global market research company Ipsos reports that China’s self-guided outbound tourism sector is booming and in-depth and high-end traveling is gaining momentum. (MVA)
