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Control on Chinese visitors to remain
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Posted on May 31 2005
The Commonwealth would continue to limit the number of Chinese visitors coming to the Northern Marianas, despite the significant decline in arrivals that would result from Japan Airlines’ planned pullout.
Marianas Visitors Authority Vicky Benavente said the CNMI would stick with its target arrivals from the China market, amid pressure to develop a market to replace the diminishing Japan market.
“We will continue to control the growth of the Chinese market. A target has already been set and we will stick with it. We cannot increase marketing for that particular route at this point,” said Benavente.
Aside from the security factor, Benavente noted that the destination could not accept a huge number of Chinese visitors for practical reasons such as the lack of facilities catering to the Chinese market.
MVA has projected to receive 55,000 visitors from China this fiscal year, an increase of 88 percent over FY 2004.
Arrivals from Hong Kong are also seen to grow by 140 percent or 2,799 visitors, and from Taiwan by 867 percent or 4,309 visitors.
Benavente added, however, that all possible efforts would be taken to keep the Japan market “vital and alive.”
Japan, she noted, had been the CNMI’s primary tourism market for the past 20 years and had made major contributions to the Commonwealth’s economy.
Arrivals from Japan are expected to decrease by about 50 percent with JAL’s possible cessation of operations in Saipan. The air carrier is reportedly planning to suspend all of its 14 weekly flights to the island beginning October 2005.
