Pona Point Fishing Cliff, Rota Pona Point Fishing Cliff is a picturesque tourist site in Songsong Village, Rota and a venue for regular fishing derby competitions. Photo: 123RF
Visitor arrivals to the CNMI grew to 23,840 tourists in January 2024, compared to 12,436 visitors received in January 2023, according to the Marianas Visitors Authority.
Monthly arrivals, however, were still 43 percent lower compared to pre-pandemic levels of January 2020, when arrivals reached 55,686 visitors.
Visitor arrivals from Korea registered 16,770 visitors in January, 66 percent higher than January 2023.
In January 2024, seat supply increased by 77 percent compared to January 2023, totaling 20,259 seats, and the number of flights increased 68 percent year-on-year to 101 flights.
Direct flight service is provided from Seoul by Jeju Air, T'way, and Asiana Airlines. Asiana Airlines has announced it will extend operation of its Incheon-Saipan route beyond March, another positive sign of stable seat supply.
In February, Jeju Air will operate 10 charter flights from Seoul to Saipan during the Lunar New Year holiday period. These charter flights will add 1,890 seats to the Marianas, a 10 percent increase compared to the regularly scheduled February seat supply.
The strong US dollar and weaker Korean won and Japanese yen continue to influence travelers from those countries to choose non-US destinations at this time.
The Marianas received 4,494 visitors from Japan in January 2024 compared to 438 visitors in January 2023.
The significant increase was largely due to the one-day visit of the cruise ship MSC Bellisima, which brought 3,666 visitors to Saipan on 4 January.
Overall, the number of outbound Japanese travelers making international travel was 55 percent lower comparing pre-pandemic December 2019 to December 2023, the latest available data.
China arrivals in January 2024 reached 827 compared to 50 arrivals in January 2023.
Prior to the pandemic, China was the second largest source market of visitors to the Marianas with multiple direct flights a week. Most visitors from China are now FITs [free independent travelers] transiting via Seoul and Tokyo to the Marianas.
In January, the Marianas also received 785 visitors from Guam, 665 visitors from the United States, and a combined 299 visitors from all other markets.