(MVA) — According to the Marianas Visitors Authority, arrivals to Saipan, Tinian and Rota grew 785% percent to 2,052 visitors in January 2022, compared to 232 visitors received in January 2021.
While the figure shows a marked recovery in arrivals as a result of the Tourism Resumption Investment Plan implemented by MVA in July 2021, it is still a significant decrease from 55,686 visitors received in January 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic, indicating a continued challenging road ahead for the recovery of the Marianas tourism economy.
Almost all visitors in January arrived under a travel bubble agreement with South Korea, the Marianas’ largest source market prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, with 1,406 visitors arriving. This compares to January 2021, when the Marianas received only 9 visitors from South Korea. Following a decline in demand from South Korea in December and early January due to the Omicron variant and other factors, preliminary statistics from MVA register an estimated 2,600 visitors from the country in February 2022, and arrivals are anticipated to increase gradually with the expansion of flight service over the coming months.
Recently, the Korea Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport approved two weekly flights from Busan to Saipan for Jeju Air and Air Busan beginning this month. Busan is the second largest city in Korea.
The Marianas also received 342 visitors from the U.S., 253 visitors from Guam, and a combined 38 additional visitors from all other destinations in January.
