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Anemic performance in FY05 arrivals
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Posted on Oct 13 2005
Fiscal year 2005 proved to be a lackluster year for the CNMI tourism industry, with yearend arrivals remaining in the same level as that of last year.
The Northern Marianas received 529,557 visitors in FY 2005, about 2,000 less than the total arrivals in FY 2004.
Arrivals from Japan, the islands’ primary tourism market, dipped by 2 percent—from 384,845 in 2004 to 376,263 in 2005. Korea arrivals also declined by 6 percent—from 69,480 in 2004 to 65,049 in 2005.
The U.S. market was the top performer for FY 2005, bringing in 17,672 visitors to the CNMI. This represents a 22-percent increase from FY 2004.
FY 2005 also saw an increase in visitor arrivals from Guam. Tourists from the southern island numbered 22,447 in FY 2005, a 16-percent increase from 19,384 in FY 2004.
“We faced several challenges throughout the fiscal year. We are aware that there are even more challenges ahead, but we will promote the CNMI through aggressive marketing efforts and strong partnership with our MVA members,” Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Vicky Benavante said.
Contrary to expectation, the China market did not immediately register a considerable growth in arrivals. The number of Chinese tourists that visited the CNMI in FY 2005 reached only 32,441, posting an 11-percent increase from last year’s 29,238 Chinese visitors.
The Chinese government granted the approved destination status to the CNMI in December 2004, allowing MVA to promote more aggressively in China.
Continental Micronesia’s direct nonstop flights caused arrivals from Taiwan to increase from 497 in FY 2004 to 2,771 in FY 2005, and Hong Kong from 1,997 in FY 2004 to 3,172 in FY 2005.
Meanwhile, arrivals from the Philippines declined by 27 percent—from 5,229 in FY 2004 to 3,825 in FY 2005.
For September 2005 alone, overall visitor arrivals reached 45,859, posting a slight decline of 1.07 percent compared to September 2004.
Japan arrivals reached 36,642, an increase of 1 percent compared to September 2004.
Guam and China posted increases of 6 percent and 5 percent respectively compared to September 2004.
Arrivals from Korea dropped by 27 percent while the Philippines declined by 52 percent.
