THE Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands reported 39.31% average occupancy rate among 11 member hotels for July 2025, 14% lower than 45.45% in July 2024.
According to HANMI, hotels typically require around 70-80% hotel occupancy to stay in operation.
A total of 25,156 of 63,997 available room nights sold during July 2025 compared to 29,544 of 65,001 available rooms sold in July 2024. The average room rate was $124.41 compared to $134.78 last July.
The July 2025 figures exclude the former 315-room Hyatt Regency Saipan reported in 2024.
Visitor arrivals to The Marianas continue to decline in the face of fierce flight competition from the primary source market of Korea, an unfavorable currency exchange rate, a shortage of aircraft due to Boeing delivery delays, and other factors. Based on flight schedules announced by airlines for the year ahead, HANMI said urgent intervention is avoid a further loss of flights — and guests.
“The Marianas is a beautiful place, but right now it is just more profitable for airlines to fly to other destinations, so we are losing out,” said HANMI Chairman Dennis Seo. “The Marianas Visitors Authority needs urgent support to hold ground against the extreme competition we are facing. An infusion of incentives is essential to stop the bleeding. We hope the government will make the financial commitment needed, so we can begin to set a foundation for tourism recovery.”
Several HANMI member hotels are now in discussion with air carriers and MVA to find ways to ensure no further loss of flights, including offering a free room night for package tours.
“As we have already seen, hotel closures could happen at any time without announcement,” said Seo. “It’s not something anyone wants, but the current occupancy rates are unsustainable. For our part, hotels are doing whatever we can to keep the doors open and employees on the payroll.”
As of Aug. 19, T’way Air had temporarily suspended its flights to Saipan. Jeju Air also plans to temporarily suspend its nighttime flights, initially from Sept. 8 to 30, followed by an indefinite withdrawal of nighttime flights beginning on Oct. 26. Should these pullouts proceed, the Korea-Saipan route will be reduced to a single daily flight, which is expected to significantly impact the tourism market.
“In addition to maintaining and expanding China and Japan markets, we also continue explore opportunities in new tourist source markets,” said Seo. “To achieve this, we need to improve tourism products and infrastructure to stimulate increased tourist demand, and air services from our core markets will also follow.
“We all understand that MVA is facing financial challenges. However, we believe that once an operating air service is lost, bringing it back will require two to three times more effort, time, and cost. We hope that MVA will receive greater financial support, including a greater budget for fiscal year 2026, as well as policy support soon for the revitalization of the Marianas tourism industry.”
To further bolster the local tourism economy, HANMI is also seeking the reinstatement of Annex VI under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s “U.S.-China Air Transport Agreement,” which provided an exemption for The Marianas from the cap on the number of scheduled U.S.-China flights.
Hotels included in HANMI’s monthly statistical report are Aqua Resort Club, Aquarius Beach Tower, Century Hotel, Coral Ocean Resort, Grandvrio Resort Saipan, Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan, Kensington Hotel Saipan, LaoLao Bay Golf & Resort, Pacific Islands Club Saipan, Saipan World Resort, and Surfrider Resort Hotel.
The Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands was established in 1985 as a professional forum for the hospitality industry of The Marianas.
