MVA managing director Perry Tenorio, in his remarks to the Saipan Chamber of Commerce yesterday, said he is hoping that suspension of the air services between Saipan and Nagoya and Osaka will just be temporary.
“The biggest challenge for the CNMI tourism industry in the next few months is in stabilizing the services from Osaka which is one of our key markets in the industry,” Tenorio said.
In March, the CNMI had daily flights from these key markets, he added.
Tenorio said MVA’s priority now is to work with its public and private partners and give them incentives to have a daily stable airlift from the Osaka market.
Tenorio hopes there will be no adverse impact on the CNMI once Continental Airlines and United Airlines implement their merger plans.
“We hope there will be no direct changes that could affect us, and we hope that Continental Airlines could come back and provide services to various points from the CNMI,” Tenorio said.
The indefinite access to the CNMI granted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to Russian and Chinese tourists helps, he added.
He said Russian and Chinese tourists account for 10 percent of the total visitor arrivals.
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