THE Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands issued the following statement on Friday:
“It is announced that Asiana Airlines is closing its Saipan office effective June 30, 2024, according to the carrier’s Saipan Regional Sales Office. Asiana Airlines has been a frontrunner in providing quality air travel to residents of the Marianas and promoting Korean tourism in islands since May 1992. Asiana will no longer be serving the Incheon-Saipan route.
“Following the recent announcement that Hyatt Regency Saipan will be closing its doors to the public at the end of June 2024, Asiana Airline’s closure of the route of Incheon-Saipan is a huge setback. It is not a stretch to say that the current Marianas tourism industry is sustained almost entirely by Korean tourists. Currently, there are two weekly Asiana Airlines flights. The loss of these flights is significant to the industry, as Asiana is a full-service carrier in the same class as United Airlines in the United States and JAL in Japan, providing critical first class and business seats and targeting a different traveler than low-cost carriers. We need both.
“The loss of Asiana — another long-term investor with over 30 years of partnership with the Marianas — immediately translates to a loss of revenue and jobs. Despite our goal of becoming a leading tourist destination worldwide, we seem to be heading in the opposite direction, and this requires policy change.
“Asiana Airlines has in the process of merging with Korean Airlines since 2021. The question is, why are they closing the Incheon-Saipan route versus any of its other current routes? Asiana Airlines has been considering this closure since the beginning of the year due to financial losses on the Saipan route. However, they were hired by a local company as a charter and have been able to continue their air service until now. This means that the market was already aware that Asiana Airlines may cease operations to Saipan. We were wondering if there were any actions undertaken on the CNMI side to help prevent this from happening.
“HANMI and the Saipan Chamber of Commerce continue to believe that ‘Operation 500K’ — a path to attracting 500,000 tourists annually — is a necessary step to stabilize the tourism industry, where businesses can at least break even. We reiterate that, firstly, the reinstatement of Annex VI should be endorsed by the administration and Commonwealth Ports Authority and approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation before the implement of CNMI Economic Vitality and Security Travel Authorization Program, known better as EVS-TAP interim final ruling effective September 30, 2024. Once Annex VI is approved, the CNMI will be allowed to receive an unlimited number of flights from China, as before the pandemic.
“Secondly, as reported in the local newspapers, the CPA has devised a plan to offer current carriers an incentive by reducing fees by half with specific conditions. CPA should make every effort to retain the current international passenger flights still with us by reducing landing and terminal fees. At the same time, the Marianas Visitors Authority must be freed by the administration to market and attract more visitors from all viable tourism markets — including China.
“Lastly, HANMI is not solely focused on the Chinese market as part of the tourism recovery plan. Essentially, we are seeking a diverse range of sources in the tourism market, not only Korea, Japan, and China but from every possible region of the world. As we know, before the pandemic China was one of our main sources of tourists, but they are currently absent. There is a demand from China, a market with which we are already familiar in terms of both marketing and handling. It will take less time to bring them back rather than developing new market sources, which takes a long time and millions of dollars. It is imperative to simultaneously develop the market sources that we used to have — like China — while continuing to seek the interest of travel trade partners and consumers tourism markets such as Taiwan, Australia, Singapore, and other regions.
“Many businesses, including HANMI hotels, are facing financial difficulties. They are experiencing financial losses ranging from thousands of dollars to half a million dollars every month. Hyatt Regency and Asiana Airlines, due to their large business scale, have attracted our attention with their business closure, but in fact, there are more businesses that have already shut down. Many businesses related to tourism such as beach marine sports operators, optional tour companies, and restaurants have already closed. We see that even DFS is only open for half a day, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. only Monday to Sunday. Through ‘Operation 500K’ we hope that businesses related to tourism, including HANMI hotels and their staff, will be able to function and operate as usual.
“We are grateful for the significant contribution that Asiana Airlines has made to the growth of the tourism industry in the Marianas and the well-being of local residents over the past 32 years. We thank you Asiana Airlines for their dedicated service for the past 32 years and hope that they consider returning to Northen Mariana Islands in the future.”
