This increase is the largest so far this year, he added.
“I hope this trend continues although we are facing challenges with flight capacity and the next few months are not peak tourism months,” Inos said.
Despite the global recession and changes in foreign currency values, he remains optimistic about the long-term prospects of the CNMI’s visitor industry.
“We have a worthwhile travel destination in the CNMI, and we can always improve our destination through small destination enhancement efforts,” Inos said.
Although the CNMI is still dealing with a “soft” tourism market and the tourist arrival numbers will fluctuate, the efforts of the community to make every tourist feel welcome will pay off, he added.
“If we give our valued tourists reasons to visit the CNMI, they will continue to arrive and our tourist arrival numbers will grow in the years ahead,” Inos said.
Statistics from the Marianas Visitors Authority last month indicated that tourist arrivals totaled 37,206 — a 9 percent increase compared to the 34,251 arrivals in Aug. 2008.
Japan, which is CNMI’s primary market, posted an 11 percent increase in tourist arrivals with 19,537 visitors.
This was followed by arrivals from South Korea, the CNMI’s second largest market, which decreased by 1 percent with 10,600 visitors.
