Marianas Visitors Authority Managing Director Christopher Concepcion with Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang during MVA’s membership meeting at Saipan World Resort on Thursday. In the background, Saipan Mayor Ramon “RB” Camacho waves as he is introduced to the MVA members.
THE Marianas Visitors Authority is developing a third source market, which will take time, MVA Managing Director Christopher Concepcion said during MVA’s membership meeting at Saipan World Resort on Thursday.
“We have explored Taiwan, Australia and Singapore. We have attended trade shows, roadshows, expos…reintroducing the Marianas destination to the public, the airlines, travel agencies and tour operators who might be interested in visiting or doing business here with us,” Concepcion said.
“We will continue these efforts,” he added, “but it must be noted that once committed partners are identified, it will take time and a lot of money to open a new market that is not familiar with the Marianas.”
He said, as of May 2024, 160,000 tourists had visited the Marianas in the current fiscal year, a 9.1% increase compared to May 2023.
“We are on track to exceed [the arrivals] last fiscal year,” Concepcion said, but the numbers are still significantly lower compared to the arrivals before the pandemic.
In 2019, there were 487,008 arrivals. In FY 2023, arrivals totaled 194,744. The Saipan Chamber of Commerce and the Hotel Association of the NMI said 500,000 visitors a year will allow the tourism sector to “break even.”
“As most of us are aware, we are seeing a solid performance from our Korea market but [this is] countered by strong challenges in our other source markets in terms of market share,” Concepcion told the MVA members on Thursday.
He said Korea comprised almost half of arrivals before Super Typhoon Yutu and the pandemic. Today, the Korea market represents 76% of the CNMI’s visitors, he added.
“Japan had the same market share before the typhoon and the pandemic. We expect the Japan market to grow slowly. With extremely unfavorable exchange rates, their stagnant economy, and the shift toward domestic travel…are really slowing the recovery in that market,” Concepcion said.
In 2018 and 2019, arrivals from Japan totaled 27,291 and 17,121. In FY 2023, there were 7,373 Japanese arrivals. In FY 2024, Japanese arrivals totaled 10,011 as of May 2024.
Concepcion noted that “arrivals from China were about equal to the Korea market before, but now it’s only about 6% market share. Hong Kong Airlines started twice weekly flights from Hong Kong in April, which is great news. Marketing those flights is being led by our partners in the private sector.”
Prior to the pandemic, China was the CNMI’s second largest market with 185,526 arrivals in 2019. In FY 2023, 4,309 Chinese tourists visited the CNMI. So far in FY 2024, tourist arrivals from China totaled 9,197 as of May 2024.
Concepcion said MVA has not had an office in China since the Covid-19 pandemic.
“So, there is again anticipated arrivals from China with these flights from Hong Kong, but we just don’t have the same direct flights as we had before the pandemic,” he added.
Concepcion also mentioned the many ongoing destination enhancement projects and the community groups that have partnered with MVA to conduct cleanups and other tourism-related projects.
“Overall, everything is looking brighter than the dark days of Covid 19,” he said. “However, without a third strong source market, it will be challenging to get back to the level of arrivals that we’ve seen in prior years. With time and resources, though, we think it’s very possible, [but] we need your continued support,” Concepcion added.
MVA recently reported that arrivals in May were 51% lower than the pandemic levels.
HANMI, for their part, reported a 35% average occupancy rate among its 13 member hotels for April 2024.
According to HANMI, hotels typically require around 70-80% hotel occupancy to stay in operation.
At the end of this month, Hyatt Regency Saipan and the local office of Asiana Airlines are shutting down.
Lawmakers expect the governor — who wants to “pivot” away from China investments and tourism — to submit an amended budget proposal that is likely to include additional spending cuts.
