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Marianas visitor arrivals up 442% in December
According to the Marianas Visitors Authority, arrivals to the islands of Saipan, Tinian and Rota grew 442% to 12,949 visitors in December 2022, compared to 2,390 visitors received in December 2021.
Visitor arrivals to the Marianas have been increasing incrementally since the commencement of the Tourism Resumption Investment Plan in July 2021 but are still 77% lower for the month compared to before the coronavirus pandemic, when 52,297 visitors arrived in December 2019.
A total of 9,868 visitors arrived from South Korea in December 2022, compared to 1,656 visitors in December 2021. Flights to the Marianas by Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air, and T’Way were all booked at over 95% capacity for the month, the highest monthly load factor in 2022. Direct flights from South Korea are anticipated to double in February with the operation of 16 charter flights by T’way Air.
The Marianas received 734 visitors from Japan in December 2022, another exponential increase compared to only 13 visitors in December 2021. Arrivals from Japan continue to increase steadily since the resumption of direct flights from Tokyo in September 2022, with direct flights to Saipan by United Airlines outpacing direct flights from secondary cities in Japan to the neighboring destination of Guam. The strength of the U.S. dollar continues to be a disincentive in both Japan and Korea for traveling to the Marianas. Overall, outbound travel from Japan is 80% lower than compared to before the coronavirus, and the Japanese government continues to offer incentives to encourage domestic—rather than outbound —travel.
The Marianas also received 1,366 visitors from Guam, 717 visitors from the U.S., and a combined 264 additional visitors from all other destinations in December. (MVA)
