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Hotels see slight boost in June occupancy
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Posted on Jul 15 2008
Hotels saw a slight jump in the number of visitors they served in June compared to the same month last year, an increase tourism officials connect to the resumption of air services from Asia and the slowly reviving tourism market.
Statistics released Tuesday by the Hotel Association of the Northern Marianas Islands show that hotels sold an estimated 2,500 more rooms in June compared to June 2008. Moreover, the average price of hotel rooms has risen $10 since last year, a change due to recent renovations.
HANMI president Lynn Knight said the statistics are encouraging. “Hotels are moving in the right direction here and we’re very hopeful that there will be continued improvements,” she said.
Knight added that some hotels have undergone new renovations and other projects that have let them justify room price increases.
A key factor in the boost hotels are seeing, Knight said, is the resumption of flights from Asian tourism markets like Japan and Korea. New nighttime flights to Saipan from Tokyo, she added, will also likely bolster the hotel industry.
The Asian tourism market’s recovery is apparent in HANMI’s statistics, which note that the number of Japanese hotel has climbed almost by 459 travelers in June 2008 over last year’s total to 15,904. The amount of Korean visitors also rose above last year’s figures by 477 people to 9,616. In contrast, however, Chinese tourism saw a significant drop of 487 visitors to a 1,142 below June 20008’s number because, Knight said, seasonal airplane charter services from China are not in operation.
Meanwhile, the number of visitors from Guam and elsewhere in the United States also rose slightly last month compared to June 2008. In addition, Russian tourism saw a dramatic increase of more than 500 visitors to a total of 834. Last month’s overall number of travelers according to the statistics, is up by almost a 1,000 people over June 2008 to 30,936.
