Visitor arrivals dip 5% in July

Arrivals to the islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota reached 45,570 in July 2019 compared to 48,156 in July 2018—a 5% decrease, according to the Marianas Visitors Authority yesterday.

South Korea grew 1% over its July 2018 mark, with 23,643 visitor arrivals in July 2019. The incremental increase was carried by daily flights by Asiana Airlines and Jeju Air from Seoul and Busan, daily flights by T’way Air from Seoul, and four additional weekly flights launched by Jeju from July 27 to Aug. 31, 2019. Growth potential from the market looks favorable, as T’way Air will increase its air service starting Oct. 27, 2019, adding one more daily flight from Incheon to Saipan.

“We are pleased to see visitor arrivals returning in July to about the same level as last July, in large part due to the stabilization of arrivals from Korea,” said MVA managing director Priscilla M. Iakopo. “There are always factors influencing arrivals that are outside our control—international relations, national economies, natural disasters. At the same time, we continue to work within our available resources to conduct strategic and effective marketing that will maintain and grow our diverse source markets.”

Arrivals from China were 15% off last year’s mark at 18,356 visitors in July. The market continues to face a rising RMB-USD exchange rate as a result of U.S.-China tensions, which is also making tourists more hesitant to travel to U.S. destinations.

Japan posted 699 visitors for the month, 1% higher than July 2018. Meanwhile, Skymark Airlines has announced nine direct charter flights from Tokyo Narita International Airport to Saipan International Airport between Aug. 9 and Sept. 22, 2019.

Economic highlights

South Korea’s Minimum Wage Commission has agreed to an increase of 2.9% to 8,590 won an hour for 2020. The single-digit hike, the smallest in a decade, was widely anticipated as President Moon Jae-in signaled a more flexible approach to his minimum wage pledge amid an economic slowdown and sluggish job growth. South Korea’s consumer sentiment dropped to a five-month low in June. Data from the Bank of Korea released on June 25 showed the consumer sentiment index for the month stood at 97.5, down 0.4 point from the previous month. The figure remains below the benchmark 100, meaning pessimists outnumber optimists. The BOK attributed the worsening sentiment to the escalating trade conflict between the United States and China. The average USD/WON exchange rate in July was 1174.40 won, a slight decrease from the previous rate of 1177.34 won in June.

In June 2019, the consumer price index in China went up by 2.7 percent year on year both in cities and rural areas. The overall growth rate of China’s outbound tourism market slowed in the first half of 2019, according to with Palm You, a Chinese travel big data platform. Affected by Sino-U.S. trade frictions and the controversies around U.S. sanctions against Huawei, Chinese visitor arrivals to the United States have declined by 3.07 percent.

The number of Japanese overseas travelers in June 2019 was up 7.0 percent year on year to 1,521,000. The total for the first six months of 2019 reached record-high 9,542,400 8.6 percent more travelers than a year ago. (PR)