JEJU Air will launch 10 additional Seoul to Saipan flights next month during the Lunar New Year celebration, Marianas Visitors Authority Managing Director Christopher Concepcion said.
“MVA is very pleased with the announcement by Jeju Air,” he added. “These flights will take place from Feb. 7 to 16 using a B737 aircraft with a 189-seat capacity per flight, giving us an additional 1,890 seats during this high peak period,” Concepcion said.
“This is in addition to the twice daily flights Jeju currently operates on this route,” he said, adding that Jeju Air is the largest carrier operating between the CNMI and Korea.
“We’ve been working very closely with their headquarters in Seoul, along with key travel agencies, to promote the Marianas in Korea and it’s paying off. They see the demand and have responded to it by adding flights, so we are grateful for their partnership and support of our tourism industry,” Concepcion said.
According to MVA, there were 13,026 visitors from Korea in Nov. 2023, 49% higher than Nov. 2022.
As of Nov. 2023, arrivals from Korea had recovered 75% compared to pre-pandemic levels, MVA added.
However, arrivals from the CNMI’s two other tourism markets — China and Japan — remain low, and overall arrivals were 60% lower than the pre-pandemic levels, MVA said.
