The Marshall Islands Visitors Authority reported Wednesday that 6,022 people came to Marshall Islands in 2008, a 17 percent drop over the 7,200 who visited in 2007.
The country’s small tourism industry was hit by the world economic crisis and the collapse of key national tourism assets.
Leading causes of the drop in visitors appear to be the cutback in Japan Airlines charter flights, the halt to diving at Bikini Atoll and the lack of flights directly from Australia, which makes it difficult and expensive for visitors from south of the equator to get to Majuro, according to visitor authority spokesperson Emelyn Simon.
JAL launched charter service to Majuro in 2007 with six flights, but provided only two charters in 2008, dramatically reducing the flow of Japanese visitors.
Once known only for its role in Cold War nuclear test development, Bikini in 1996 launched a scuba dive program featuring a fleet of World War II vintage warships on its lagoon floor, attracting divers from the United States, Europe and Australia. But when planes of the government’s national airline were grounded repeatedly over an eight month period in late 2007 to early 2008 stranding multiple groups of divers at the isolated atoll, Bikini officials in early 2008 called a halt to its tourism program.
“The fact that Air Marshall Islands was down for quite a long while resulted in Bikini (canceling) fully booked diving tours,” Simon said.
Bikini official Jack Niedenthal confirmed that Bikini Atoll Divers was heavily booked through 2009 when it halted the dive business after 12 years.
Another blow to tourism development came when the Nauru-run air carrier, Our Airline, quit flying to Majuro last year after sustaining severe losses, ending the only direct flights from Brisbane, Australia.
Simon said the Marshall Islands is feeling the effects of the global economic downturn.
The only bright spot in the 2008 visitor count is the numbers were higher than in 2006, which saw only 5,780 people visit Marshall Islands.
