MVA holds 2023 New Year Seminar in Korea

With high hopes for the continued gradual growth of arrivals from the Marianas’ top market of Korea, the Marianas Visitors Authority held its 2024 New Year Seminar in Seoul recently to begin collaboration with travel partners for 2024.

Over 70 representatives of travel agencies, airlines, travel trade media, hotels and resorts, and other travel partners joined the event, held on Jan. 18 at JW Marriott Dongdaemun. The event was also attended by officials of the U.S. Embassy in Korea— Commercial Officer Michael Kim and Senior Commercial Specialist Jessica Son.

“In 2023, we achieved a 73% recovery of Korean visitors to the Marianas compared to 2019, the year before the pandemic,” MVA board chair Gloria Cavanagh reported to attendees in her welcoming remarks. “We are especially grateful to our airline partners for their continued confidence in our scheduled and charter flights.”

The Marianas has direct flights from Seoul to Saipan by Jeju Air, T’way, and Asiana Airlines. According to the MVA, the supply of air seats from Incheon to Saipan totaled 233,316, achieving a recovery rate of 70% compared to the 2019 figure of 335,387 seats. The number of Korean visitors to the Marianas reached 177,476 in Calendar Year 2023, showing a recovery rate of 73% compared to the 2019 figure of 241,776.

“The recovery rate of visitor numbers surpassing the recovery rate of airline seats is particularly encouraging,” said Kim Se-jin, In-country manager of the MVA Korea office, adding that the outlook for the travel market in the Marianas this year is very optimistic.

The seminar included an update on new developments related to travel in the Marianas and—in the spirit of the new year holiday—games and giveaways, which were warmly received by participants in the sub-freezing temperatures of Seoul. (MVA)