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Occupancy rate improves in 2000
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Posted on Jan 26 2001
Average hotel occupancy rate in 2000 was 61.23 percent, a slight increase from the 60.44 percent average occupancy record in 1999, according to the Hotel Association of Northern Mariana Islands.
This was the first time that average hotel occupancy rate posted an increase in the last three years.
In December 2000 alone, the hotel occupancy rate was 57.37 percent, a four percent decline from the 61.16 percent registered in the same period of the previous year.
Unfortunately, the average room rates significantly declined with $88.06 in year 2000 from $98.98 room rates in 1999. HANMI said the rate only means that the hotels are making less money thus they have to reduce their rates to remain competitive.
While consumers love lower room rates, businesses are not really making money and the government which gets a share in the room tax is getting less revenue.
HANMI has always maintained that cutting room rates will not help the hotel business since it will be difficult to increase the rates again and it businesses would have less money for operation.
Hotel executives have cited the lack of direct flights and inadequate promotion as the main reasons in the decline of visitor arrivals in the Northern Marianas.
Aside from this, the amount of exposure to the CNMI’s major markets, the value that the Northern Marianas gives to the tourists and the attractiveness of the destination are some factors that influence the arrival of visitors on the islands.
The Marianas Visitors Authority had earlier reported that tourist arrivals posted a slight increase of 1 percent for the month of December totaling 44,870 compared to the same period of the previous year.
However, visitor arrivals from Japan, the island’s main market, showed a mere 1 percent increase compared to the same month of the previous year or a total of 32,080.
MVA said arrivals from Japan grew mainly due to the year-end holidays during the month which gave travelers the chance to take long weekend breaks. (Lindablue F. Romero)
