Lt. Gov. Eloy S. Inos said the Marianas Visitors Authority is promoting the islands to potential tourists from Russia, South Korea, China and Taiwan.
“As far as the market is concerned, we’ve intensified efforts in markets outside of Japan like China and Korea, including Russia, and we’re looking at Taiwan,” he told the Variety in an interview.
The CNMI is not new to the Taiwanese tourism market.
Two major Taiwanese airlines — Eva Air and Mandarin Airlines —used to regularly bring passengers to Saipan in the past.
Inos said Taiwan is a potential good market if MVA can succeed in reintroducing the destination among Taiwanese tourists.
“We need to try to capture that market not just to backfill the loss from Japanese but also to increase tourist arrivals. MVA is already looking at that right now,” he said.
But the success of bringing Taiwanese tourists to the CNMI still depends on whether an airline will serve the Saipan route.
“Hopefully, we can partner with an airline that is willing to do that. In the end, we found out that carriers will fly there if there’s a demand,” said Inos.
Two major international airlines — Delta and Asiana — regularly serve the Saipan-Japan route.
Asiana has the monopoly on the South Korean market for the Saipan route.
Travelers from China and Russia are brought in through charter flights.
The overall arrival rate for March plunged by 16 percent to 30,376, according to MVA.
