The Marianas Visitors Authority board of directors hold a regular board meeting Thursday with management and staff.
THE Marianas Visitors Authority is launching an advertising campaign to try to improve Japan visitor arrival trends, MVA Managing Director Christopher Concepcion said.
“Traditionally, the low season starts in October-November, and it peaks back up, so I’m not entirely surprised that there’s a slight drop in forward bookings for the Japan market. Its expected; however, we are trying to reverse the trend by launching this ‘Tabi Toku’ campaign,” he added.
He said the campaign involves incentives, discounts and promotions to entice Japanese visitors to come to the CNMI.
He added that the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands will offer complimentary prices for hotel rooms.
“United Airlines has also stepped in and provided complimentary air tickets,” he said. “Every month we will do a raffle draw to pick a lucky winner to come to the CNMI. Airfare and hotel expenses are covered, and when they get here, they have all other discounts on activities, in restaurants and many more. The goal is to increase the bookings,” Concepcion said.
Cruise ship
He added than in January, a cruise ship from Japan is scheduled to arrive on Saipan.
“This is a nine-day cruise that will start in Yokohama, Japan, then go to Guam, Saipan and back to Yokohama. The cruise ship will leave Japan on December 30, and they will celebrate New Year in the ocean near the Northern Islands of the CNMI, and on Jan. 4, the plan is for them to dock here on Saipan. The passengers will exit the cruise ship from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and there’s a full day of activities that are planned for them by the JTV group. Tasi Tour in Saipan is their local ground handler, and is coordinating all the arrangements for bus and ground transportation, and the visits to shopping centers, stores, shops and restaurants,” Concepcion said.
“MVA is going to promote this to our membership to inform them about this cruise ship, it’s a 4,000-passenger cruise ship with 1,000 crew, and they already have over 3,200 seats booked. It’s a big number for a one-day visit and so we are excited. It’s really going to boost arrivals from Japan,” he added.
Concepcion said there are other groups from Japan that are scheduled to arrive on Saipan in January.
“All these things are happening, all at the same time and throughout the next few months, a lot of activity and hope for the Japan market’s revival. Our flights are steady, they are three times a week, the goal is to bring then back to a daily flight weekly, he added.
Japan was the CNMI’s primary tourism market until 2014 when South Korea and China overtook it.
From over 153,000 arrivals in 2012, the number of tourists from Japan plummeted to 17,121 in 2019.
In 2020, Japanese arrivals totaled 9,963; in 2021, 54; and in 2022, 2,130.
CPA’s fee increases
Asked about the Commonwealth Ports Authority’s fee increases, Concepcion said, “We respect CPA’s prerogative in increasing their rates. We understand that they have an organization to run, and they need to recoup their costs. We respect their stance on it.”
CPA has announced a 90% increase in landing fees for both the Saipan airport’s main terminal as well as the commuter terminals on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota effective on Oct. 1, 2023.
Airlines traveling to the CNMI will pay higher fees per flight.
“We hear the concerns of the airlines separately from what CPA hears and of course they’ve indicated their concern that increasing the costs of operating at the Saipan airport is going to affect their bottom-line and profitability of this route,” Concepcion said.
“So, we communicate closely with our partners at CPA and the airlines and we’re going to try to find a way to make this work for everybody. We’re in close communication with the administration as well. The governor’s office has indicated their support to see what we could do to make sure that if there’s an increase, someway somehow, we balance it out, so we don’t lose the momentum we have right now and the number of tourists coming into the CNMI will continue to increase,” Concepcion said.
