Previous Story
Visitor arrivals post slight uptick in Dec.
|
Posted on Jan 13 2005
Visitor arrivals continue to pass the 40,000 mark, posting a slight growth of 4.89 percent in December 2004 compared with the same month in 2003.
Data from the Marianas Visitors Authority showed that arrivals reached 47,817 visitors last month. This brought the total arrivals for calendar year 2004 to 535, 224 visitors—a 16.49 percent increase over 2003.
Most of the markets showed phenomenal improvement last month over their December 2003 performance, especially Korea, which registered its first double-digit growth in six months.
Korea maintained its standing as the Northern Marianas’ second largest market with 6,485 arrivals, a 23-percent increase as compared with December 2003. MVA attributed the growth to the three flights per week added by Asiana Airlines to accommodate heightened passenger demand during the holiday season.
Taiwan and Hong Kong also registered increases of 708 percent and 60 percent, respectively, due to direct flights from both destinations. Continental Airlines began direct twice-weekly flights to Saipan from Hong Kong and Taiwan in November 2004.
The islands received 330 tourists from Hong Kong and 323 from Taiwan last month.
Arrivals from the emerging China market continue to rise with 2,803 visitors in December 2004, a 54-percent increase over the same month in 2003.
However, the CNMI’s largest market, Japan, posted a 2-percent decline in arrivals in December 2004, as compared with December 2003.
The decrease, MVA said, comes as a result of Continental Airlines’ termination of its Saipan-Nagoya flights, as well as moves by Japan Airlines and Northwest Airlines to downsize the aircraft used for their Tokyo-Saipan flights.
MVA reported that seat capacity from Tokyo last month went down by 17 percent as compared with December 2003.
Two cruise ships from Japan visited the CNMI at the end part of December 2004, bringing in a total of 1,013 passengers. M/V Fuji Maru came with 579 visitors on Dec. 29 while Asuka brought in 434 passengers on Dec. 31.
Saipan welcomed 46,577 of the total number of visitors that came in December 2004. Tourists who traveled directly from Guam to Rota numbered 6,410. Rota served as the initial point of entry to 1,240 tourists.
