THE weakening yen against the U.S. dollar puts the CNMI at a “significant disadvantage” in the Japanese tourism market, Marianas Visitors Authority officials told the Senate.
As of Monday, the exchange rate was $1 to 129.551 yen. During the same period last year, a dollar was equivalent to about 115 yen.
In a meeting Wednesday with the Senate Committees on Federal Relations, and on Resources, Economic Development and Programs, acting MVA Chairwoman Gloria Cavanagh and board member Ivan Quichocho discussed the current status of the CNMI’s only industry, tourism.
Cavanagh said MVA has worked diligently and spent a lot of money to make sure that Japan will once again become the CNMI’s No. 1 market.
The Japan market reopened officially in September 2022 with the launch of United Airlines’ direct Tokyo-Saipan flights, Quichocho said.
“And then the yen collapsed,” he added.
By way of explanation, he said the Japanese can buy a dozen eggs for $2 in their own country, but would pay $8 if they buy them in the CNMI.
On top of this, he said the Japanese government has been pushing domestic travel destinations by launching a significant discount program, “which almost made it free for them to travel domestic,” Quichocho said.
So the plummeting yen against the dollar that makes the CNMI an expensive destination is compounded by competition with the Japanese government promoting Okinawa as an alternative beach destination, he added.
Quichocho said, “We are an average of five or six times more expensive than going to Okinawa. For one package to Saipan, a Japanese traveler can get six trips to Okinawa. Also due to the strengthening dollar, a Japanese tourist can go on three Korean trips compared to just one trip to Saipan.”
Quichocho also reminded the senators “to please consider that as hard as we are fighting to get our tourism back, so is Vietnam, so is the Philippines, and so is Hawaii. We are facing a global competition with everyone else that is relying on tourism.”
Quichocho said MVA, for its part, will continue to work with partners and carriers to promote the CNMI. “We really do need the funding to help this process along,” he added, referring to the $15 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds that MVA has yet to receive from the Department of Finance.
Marianas Visitor Authority officials meet with senators in the Senate chamber on Wednesday last week.
Senate Floor Leader Corina L. Magofna listens during a meeting with Marianas Visitors Authority officials in the Senate chamber on Wednesday last week.
