By Bryan Manabat
bryan@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
THE Marianas Visitors Authority is cautiously optimistic about reviving tourism from Japan, despite economic headwinds and limited budget support.
MVA Managing Director Jamika Taijeron told reporters on Friday that the Japan market remains “tricky” but not without promise.
“Japan has been very difficult for us to re-engage with, but it’s not just us here locally. It’s basically all U.S. destinations,” she said, citing similar challenges faced by Hawaii and Guam.
Japan is currently experiencing a boom in inbound tourism due to favorable exchange rates, which have made travel within Japan more attractive for U.S. visitors. However, the same currency dynamics have made outbound travel less appealing for Japanese nationals.
“It’s very unfavorable for Japanese travelers to travel outbound,” Taijeron said.
Three direct flights connect Japan to the CNMI daily, but about half of the seats are occupied by local residents, she added.
“That only leaves about 50% of the seats to be occupied by travelers,” she said. “During peak months, we had very high load factors, and we would like to see more flights from Japan.”
Earlier this year, the MVA board of directors approved a $3.8 million spending plan for fiscal year 2026. Of that amount, $1.8 million is earmarked for marketing and promotions, $1.4 million for personnel, and the remainder for operations.
Taijeron emphasized that the MVA continues to engage with airline partners despite limited resources.
“That $1.8 million is not going to be anywhere near what we need to even stabilize the existing service that we have, let alone attract any new service, new airlines, or new flights,” she said.
“There are interests from airlines and companies to get more flights here. But it is a scary time, and our destination needs some work also,” she added. “We want to make it easy for partners to enter our market and make sure they are comfortable that they’re going to be supported.”
Despite the challenges, MVA is not giving up, she said.
“We still see potential,” Taijeron said. “There are several months where visitor arrivals are positive, and that’s a good sign.”
From 141,747 arrivals in 2013, the number of Japanese tourists visiting the CNMI declined to 17,121 in 2019, the year before the pandemic. In 2022, 2,130 Japanese visitors arrived, while in 2024, MVA reported 12,625 visitors from Japan.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
