RP’s NCLEX takers bypassing NMI for HK
Tourist arrivals in the CNMI from the Philippines went down by over 50 percent compared to statistics last year, coinciding with the move to allow Hong Kong to administer the National Council Nursing Licensure Examination this year.
For August 2005 alone, statistics showed a decline of 57 percent or 210 visitors from Manila, compared with the 489 in August 2004.
In July, Manila visitors only numbered 271 or 37 percent down from last year’s 429.
In June, the decline was at 57 percent, as only 213 people came compared with 496 during the same month last year.
The decline was at 44 percent in May, 15 percent in April, 50 percent in March, and 14 percent in February. In January, the reduction was at 7 percent while in December 2004, the decline was at 9 percent.
In November 2004, the rate was up at 29 percent while in October 2004, the figure was up by 20 percent.
From 477 visitors in October 2004, the number plunged to 210 last month.
So far, a total of 3,620 visitors arrived from Manila in fiscal year 2005. In the previous fiscal year, the total number was 5,229.
Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Vicky I. Benavente said, “There’s really a competition for that market [NCLEX takers].”
She noted, though, that arrivals from the Philippines have traditionally been minimal compared to other markets such as Japan and South Korea. Tourist arrivals from Korea totals over 60,000 a year while Japan totals about 400,000 a year.
“But we’re looking at ways on how to improve our standing in the Philippines,” she said, noting that MVA regularly participates in tourism expos in Manila.
Hong Kong is a practical choice among NCLEX takers from the Philippines since it is much closer to Manila and far less expensive than the CNMI.
The Hong Kong-Manila fare costs only $200 or even less per person, including hotel accommodations, compared with the $700 fare to the CNMI. Also, the Manila-Hong Kong flight is an hour less than the Manila-Saipan route.
