Study: Japanese tourists willing to pay more for CNMI

About 76 percent of surveyed Japanese tourists, after visiting the CNMI, said that they would be willing to pay more—as much as 15 percent—for their package to the Northern Marianas, according to the Marianas Visitors Authority yesterday.

MVA said this is one of the major findings in its in-depth research on the Japan market, which the agency had conducted in the past three months following the news of Japan Airlines’ pullout from the region.

MVA said the study included an online survey of over 1,000 potential Japanese travelers to the CNMI regarding their perception of the CNMI.

A focus group communication in Japan was also conducted among office ladies and salary-men who frequently travel to the CNMI “to determine their image of the CNMI on a qualitative basis.”

Further, the MVA said it conducted an exit survey of over 1,000 Japanese at the Saipan airport during the period.

MVA cited the following as key results of the three major research projects:

– 96.5 percent of Japanese visitors to the CNMI indicate that their visit to the Marianas “met or exceeded their expectations”;

– 94 percent of Japanese visitors to the CNMI indicate that they would like to return to the Marianas;

– The greatest area of satisfaction among Japanese visitors is the ease of visiting the Marianas from Japan—only a 3-hour flight—no jet lag, easy to communicate while on the islands, a safe and comfortable destination;

– The second key area of satisfaction among Japanese visitors is the natural beauty of the CNMI—the beaches, ocean, jungle, wildlife, and Managaha Island;

– 84 percent of Japanese visitors indicate that “nature” is the single most powerful sales point of the CNMI;

– Japanese travelers see no reason that packages to the CNMI should be priced lower than Guam; in fact, the price perception of the CNMI in Japan is slightly higher than that of Guam;

– 49 percent of Japanese visitors to the CNMI indicate that cost was either a minor factor or not a factor in choosing a trip to the CNMI—an indication that, for half the Japanese market, there is an opportunity to create higher-priced packages and reach higher-end Japanese travelers; and

– 76 percent of Japanese tourists, after visiting the CNMI, indicate they would have been willing to pay more for their package to the CNMI; 70 percent would be willing to pay as much as 15 percent more on average.

The MVA said it received input in several areas where the CNMI needs to reconsider its position:

– Shopping inspired a strong reaction from the Japanese, with 23 percent of Japanese tourists expressing satisfaction with the shopping options while 26 percent indicated dissatisfaction with the shopping options;

– Similarly, 30 percent of Japanese respondents indicated satisfaction with the restaurant options while 26 percent indicated dissatisfaction;

– With hotels, 34 percent of Japanese respondents were satisfied with their hotel stay while 21 percent were not.

In view of these findings, MVA managing director Vicky I. Benavente said the agency has to “re-tool” its Japan market strategy for 2006.

She said the main goals of the three-part study were to provide an update on the Japan market, focusing on what they perceive as the CNMI’s strengths and weaknesses as a travel destination, as well as to research the price sensitivity of Japanese travelers.

“The message will be tailored to emphasize the perceived strengths and defuse the perceived weaknesses of the destination,” Benavente said.

She also noted that JAL’s termination of its flights was not because of a lack of passengers but the seat revenue was “too low to cover the costs of flights.”

She said that JAL had 80 percent load factor on all routes, which is “extremely high load factors by global standards.”

She said that to ensure the long-term viability of the tourism industry, “the MVA is working to attract higher spending visitors.”

Benavente said MVA is working with its travel partners “to attract the higher-end customers willing to pay more for a package to the CNMI, raising the profitability for the industry as a whole, including the major airlines.”

Further, she said that the MVA intends “to nail down seemingly contradictory responses from the thousands of Japanese interviewed.”

This will be done to establish more specifically what it is about these various infrastructural issues that satisfy or fail to satisfy Japanese visitors to our islands,” she said.