The third chartered flight was scheduled for Jan. 2, according to Goto Motomu, PDI group package division supervisor.
On Dec. 28, he said, they catered to 1,800 tourists, a number that was lower than last year’s arrivals.
“The economic crisis affects the arrival of tourists,” he told Variety.
Motomu said PDI was still able to bring in tourists despite the gloomy economic situation in the CNMI and around the world.
He said they have lowered their tourist fees and package rates.
“We need to adopt a new approach. We will settle with a lower price,” he added.
Most of the tourists come from Tokyo, Nagoya and Narita, he added.
He said most of the tourists were first-timers and they stayed in the commonwealth for at least two days.
The open skies agreement between the U.S. and Japan, which has yet to be implemented, will certainly help boost the local tourism industry, he said.
