Asiana Air seeks CNMI support for its daily flights

Asiana Airlines vice president Young Keun Kim has asked Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio for his continued cooperation in ensuring the success of their daily Saipan-Seoul service.

In a letter to the chief executive, YoungKeun said the daily service which began on Sept. 13, 1999 did not start as originally planned because of the delay in the delivery of the new aircraft.

“I can assure you that I have paid utmost efforts in my position to keep the promise made during my last visit,” said YoungKeun.

As a result of the daily flights, the Marianas Visitors Authority is planning to increase the CNMI’s visibility in Korea to better highlight the island’s features as an ideal destination in the region.

MVA has asked the Legislature for a $1.75 million additional funding for fiscal year 2000. Of this, some $175,000 would be alloted for a marketing campaign in Korea.

The planned increase in marketing budget for the Korean market was also due to the possible return of Korean Air to Saipan after two years of absence. Currently, MVA has only set aside $125,000 to promote the CNMI in Korea.

Board chairman Dave M. Sablan and MVA deputy managing director Vicky Benavente are currently in Korea for a two-day meeting with officials of the Korean Ministry of Construction and Transportation to follow up on their request to grant the application of Korean Air for Saipan-Seoul service.

Visitor arrivals from Korea drastically declined after the pullout of Korean Air in August 1997 due to the tragic crash on nearby island Guam and the plunge of the Korean economy amid Asia’s financial crisis.

“There is actually no restriction for Korean Air to fly to Saipan. The Korean government just want to make sure that all the safety measures are at par,” said Sablan.

The governor has said he is optimistic that with the recent strong growth of the Korean economy, the CNMI will once again regain the Pre-International Monetary Fund visitor arrivals.

Korea is the CNMI’s second biggest source of tourists. Korean Air used to ferry an average of 12,000 passengers a month.

Since early this year, there has been a steady increase in the number of visitor arrivals from Korea primarily due to the improvement in the Korean economy.

Korean Air board chairman Yang Ho Cho and a number of the airline’s executives held a brief visit to the CNMI early this year where they also inspected a number of hotels on the island. Yang expressed interest in resuming Korean Air service before the end of the year.

MVA has been eyeing the honeymoon market in Korea which is projected to increase continuously as some 400,000 couples are expected to get married this year.

Many are expecting the CNMI to get a bigger share of the honeymoon market since the crash in neighboring island Guam is still fresh in the minds of many Koreans. (Lindablue F. Romero)