Saipan Hotel, the Northern Marianas Islands. Photo: The Marianas Visitors Authority
The Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands (HANMI) says the Northern Mariana Islands' hotel industry is in survival mode and is again appealing for help in restoring flights from China and to a lesser extend from Japan.
"We are actively exploring all available opportunities in the Korean market and, as an industry, strongly advocate for the restoration and expansion of flight services from Japan and China," HANMI chair Dennis Seo said.
"At this stage, we are operating in survival mode and urgently need broader regional connectivity to support recovery,"
He made this appeal after HANMI reported 28.57 percent average occupancy rate among 11 member hotels for March 2025, 18 percent lower than 34.98 percent in March 2024.
A deeper look on the March numbers indicates that a total of 18,587 of 65,062 available room nights sold last month compared to 26,205 of 74,906 available rooms sold in March 2024. The average room rate was $112.81 in March 2025 compared to $118.89 in March 2024.
The March 2025 figures exclude the former 315-room Hyatt Regency Saipan-now Marianas Beach Resort-reported in 2024.
"Before the pandemic, Saipan's major hotels/resorts maintained an average occupancy rate of 80 percent and higher, which is generally considered a healthy benchmark in the hospitality industry," Seo said.
"Unfortunately, most local properties have not returned to profitable occupancy levels since 2019. We are now seeing occupancy rates dropping to similar to those of two years ago, and sustainable profitability remains a challenge."
Jeju Air, one of three airlines providing direct flights from the CNMI top source market of South Korea, suspended its daily night time flight to Saipan on 29 March.
Coupled with the loss of Asiana Airlines last year, air service from the Northern Marianas' top source market has dwindled to only two daily flights this month.
While the CNMI had direct flights from five cities in mainland China and Hong Kong prior to the pandemic, at this time there are only twice weekly flights from Hong Kong.
Prior to the pandemic there were daily flights from Japan, versus only three flights a week at present.
Tourist numbers continue to plummet
Meanwhile, the Marianas Visitors Authority (MVA) reported that visitor arrivals to CNMI totaled only 13,981 in March 2025, a 27 percent decrease compared to 19,213 visitors received in March 2024.
The Commonwealth's tourism body said South Korea remained the largest visitor market, contributing 8936 arrivals in March 2025 - a 38 percent drop from the 14,403 visitors in March 2024.
MVA said the decline is largely attributed to the cessation of flights by Asiana Airlines to Saipan in July 2024, as well as the reduction in flights by Jeju Air following the December 2024 crash in Korea, including a reduction in its nighttime flight from daily to only four times a week from 7 to 29 March.
On a positive note, MVA said Jeju Air has announced they will add eight flights from 30 April 30 to 7 May to accommodate peak holiday travel demand.
MVA said a continuing aircraft shortage across multiple carriers, fierce competition with Southeast Asian destinations, and other industry factors continue to challenge flight service to CNMI from its Korea market.
In March the MVA joined Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and representatives of HANMI, the Legislature, and the Commonwealth Ports Authority in meeting with airline partners in Korea to negotiate air connectivity.
Visitor arrivals from Japan went down to 1121 arrivals in March 2025 compared to 1470 in March 2024.
The 24 percent difference was largely due to the arrival of nearly 700 ship passengers in March 2024.
In March 2025, the average aircraft load factor-the percentage of occupied air seats-from Japan was 24 percent higher than last March.
Arrivals from China reached 1471 in March 2025, reflecting a 20 perxwnt increase from the 1,222 visitors recorded in March 2024.
Arrivals from China comprise 9 percent market share, a slight increase compared to 7 percent market share from Japan.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, China was the Northern Marianas' second-largest source market, with multiple direct flights.
The MVA previously maintained a representative office in China to support these efforts.
Additional visitor arrivals in March 2025 included 1076 visitors from Guam, 882 visitors from the US, and 495 from other markets.
