ABOUT 5,000 travelers from South Korea are expected to arrive in the CNMI from January 27 to February 28 this year, the Marianas Visitors Authority said on Monday.
The flights will be provided by Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air, and T’Way Air.
“While the Marianas has seen declining demand from South Korea in December and January due to the Omicron variant and other factors, MVA and its tourism partners are optimistic about the rebound of the market in late January during the Lunar New Year holiday period and beyond,” MVA stated.
In November 2021, the CNMI received 2,842 visitors, a 1528% increase over the 186 arrivals in the same month of the previous year.
There were 2,127 South Korean visitors in November 2021 compared to only five in November 2020.
Also in November 2021, the CNMI received 167 visitors from Guam, 149 from the U.S. mainland, 11 from the Philippines, three from Japan, two from China, and 23 from other jurisdictions.
In November 2020, the CNMI received 82 visitors from Guam, 80 from the U.S. mainland, five from Japan, three each from the Philippines and Taiwan, and eight from other jurisdictions.
In November 2019, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the CNMI received 39,717 visitors.
MVA said the latest numbers indicate “a continued challenging road ahead.”
In October, MVA estimated that about 7,794 South Korean tourists would arrive in the CNMI through the remainder of last year.
Based on recent data, there were a total of 4,834 tourists from October to mid-December, roughly 62% of the number182 projected in October.
