Saipanese people pin hopes on tourism boom again

Travelers snorkel around the Managaha Island, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Jan. 14. Known as the 'jewel of the CNMI,' the small reef island on the western coast of Saipan offers chest-deep blue water with coral reef and tropical fish, suitable for snorkeling beginners both young and old. Korea Times photo by Lee Hae-rin

By Lee Hae-rin

• Published Feb 1, 2023 8:44 AM KST
• Updated Feb 1, 2023 11:51 AM KST

Koreans take lion's share in foreign tourists in the island

By Lee Hae-rin

SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands ―- A Saipanese snorkeling guide, who goes by the Korean nickname “Ddung-ddung-yi” (an affectionate term meaning “Chubby” in English) to befriend Korean visitors, spoke in Korean during an expedition program at Saipan's natural cave attraction Grotto, Jan. 12.

“Are you scared? No worries. Hold on to Ddung-ddung-yi,” he told a group of Korean tourists. “Hold your breath. One, two, three!”

With the help of local guides capable of conversational Korean, a group of about 30 Koreans joyfully explored the cave's diving site connected to the Pacific Ocean ― the world's second largest cave diving destination. Equipped with life vests and snorkeling goggles, they admired the breathtaking crystalline blue water and natural stalactite scenery. The tourists varied in age and experience level, from a seven-year-old first-timer to an experienced snorkeler in his late 20s who was visiting the island for the fifth time.

On this scenic resort island, several local residents enthusiastically engage in conversations in Korean, with expressions like “Jincha?” (really?), and when on stage they make the audience cheer by using Korean phrases such as “Baksoo” (applause) and “Dae-han-min-guk” (the official name for South Korea in the Korean language, often used in football chants).

The islanders' particular familiarity with the Korean language and friendliness to Korean travelers are due to the large number of Korean visitors and their contributions to its tourism-driven economy.

Consisting of the 15 northernmost islands in the Mariana Archipelago, the Commonwealth of Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI) ranks 201st in the world in size. The islands, with their volcanic environment featuring scenic peaks and heavy jungle coverage where only 2.2 percent of the terrain is arable, depends entirely on tourism for its economy.

In 2022, 80 percent of the islands' 94,000 visitors were Korean, according to the Marianas Visitors Authority (MVA), the country's governmental body promoting tourism. At its peak, Koreans accounted for over half of the CNMI's tourists in 2019 at 51.1 percent, or 249,000 out of the 467,000 total visitors, which is also fivefold of the island's population at around 50,000.

Saipan became a popular vacation destination for Koreans along with nearby Guam in the early 2000s due to its exotic tropical weather and geographical proximity. The island is a four-and-a-half-hour flight from the peninsula and has only a one-hour time difference. Also, the tropical island country marked a Guinness World Record in 2000 for having the world's most equable temperature, with a yearly average temperature of 25.9 degrees Celsius, and gained popularity for the beautiful coral reefs along its 1,482 kilometers of coastline.

Saipan is the largest island and the CNMI's capital at 118.98 square kilometers ― approximately 6.5 percent the land area of Korea's Jeju Island or slightly more than one third of the size of Korea's capital Seoul, Saipan is home to over 43,000 natives of the population of around 50,000 and Korean's family vacation destination with a wide range of water sports activities beautiful scenery.

Initially inhabited by native ethnic groups including the Chamorro people and Carolinians, the island had come under Spanish, German and Japanese rule before finally establishing a commonwealth in political union with the U.S. in the 1970s some decades after the defeat of Japan in World War II.

Saipan's economic growth with Korean travelers

In 2005, Japanese Airlines' (JAL) decision to suspend flights to Saipan ― and then completely pull out ― marked the end of a chapter led by Japan. JAL Group once led eight tourism businesses in the island country, including Hotel Nikko Saipan and the La Fiesta Shopping Complex but sold them to the CNMI government during Japan's economic crisis.

That's when Koreans, along with the Chinese, substituted the heavy Japanese presence from the early 2000s and contributed significantly to the island's economy.

The properties were bought by Korean company E-land's overseas corporation MRI in the early 2010s. The island's three major hotels and resorts previously run by Japanese owners ― Hotel Nikko, PIC Saipan, and Coral Ocean Point ― were renovated by the Korean company and now host 60 percent of the island's visitors.

In 2016, the country's real GDP increased by 28.6 percent from the previous year, on the tail of two years of rapid growth. In the same year, the number of Korean tourists surpassed that of Chinese, at 228,000 out of 531,000. When the island country's visitors peaked in 2017 at 660,000, Koreans were the majority with 335,000, followed by Chinese and Japanese.

Attempts to overcome pandemic crisis

The resort island heavily dependent on tourism was hit hard by the pandemic, especially after being devastated by Typhoon Yuta in 2018. The country tried to revive its economy by signing a travel bubble agreement with Korea in June 2021.

Under the travel bubble partnership, fully vaccinated people were allowed quarantine-free air travel in both directions between two or more cities or countries with similar rates of COVID-19 infections. The Northern Marianas Islands was the first country to sign the agreement with Korea ― even before its neighboring competitor Guam ― and over 13,000 Korean travelers visited the island under the partnership, according to the MVA.

Although the number of visitors fell short of the island country's expectation, due mainly to the surge of new variants and constant changes in international travel regulations, the travel bubble created momentum for its pandemic-frozen economy, MVA vice chairperson Gloria Cavanagh recalled during a recent interview with Korean reporters. She said that the islanders are now keeping their fingers crossed for more travelers to arrive with the borders reopened.

Indeed, all Koreans and locals that this reporter met working in the tourism sector in Saipan spoke unanimously about their desperate need for the resumption of flights to promote the return of Korean travelers.

“We would look up in the sky, looking for airplanes landing,” said Choi Jun-mook, an experienced Korean tour guide who has lived in Saipan for 10 years. “We (islanders and Koreans in Saipan) are all prepared. We just need our visitors back.”

Kim Hye-young, the owner of the oldest Korean restaurant in town named Cheong Gi Wa which has been open since 1995, nodded in agreement with Choi.

Since flights resumed in July 2021, despite the ongoing pandemic, the number of weekly flights increased to 16 today, including 14 from Korea and two from Japan. However, the number is far below pre-pandemic levels, when 93 flights were available from Korea, China and Japan every week, 49 of which were from Korea in 2019.

However, the possibility of an increase in flights between Korea and Saipan seems low as of now, according to domestic airlines.

In a recent interview with The Korea Times, Asiana Airlines, which now runs two weekly flights between Incheon and Saipan, said it will stop the route in March due to changing demand. Instead, it will add flights to Japan and Europe and keep an eye out for changes to Chinese travel regulations to prepare for their return.

T'way, a domestic low-cost carrier now offering four flights a week between Incheon and Saipan, added that Korean travelers' interest in Saipan has been relatively lower compared to other destinations, like Japan and Taiwan. The company is focusing on resuming flights to destinations in Southeast Asia such as Singapore and Vietnam and may extend service to Saipan later in summer depending on future growth demand. Air Busan, which hasn't resumed its service to Saipan yet, agreed with T'way on its resumption of flights to Saipan.

Meanwhile, the islanders touted the friendly and amicable nature of local people along with their hopes for the return of tourists.

Compared to the nearby resort island Guam, the most special and precious “gem” of Saipan, along with its beautiful natural scenery, is “the people” and their hospitality, according to Cavanagh.

A descendent of native Chamorro from Guam, Cavanagh has extensive experience working in the tourism industry both in Guam and Saipan since 2008.

“The destination itself is pretty beautiful. As far as the natural sights go, CNMI is so much more beautiful (than Guam),” she said, explaining that Saipan may lack shopping facilities and other infrastructure due to underdevelopment but features better-preserved and more-beautiful natural sites. “The people are also very accommodating here, much more so than in Guam. In Guam, tourism is only some percentage of their economy,” she said, underlining the U.S. military's presence in Guam's economy.

Choi also spoke highly of the islanders' hospitality.

“People on this island have such big and warm hearts,” he said, adding that the island's hospitability was one of the greatest motivations for him and his family to settle there 10 years ago.

“There is no competition, no worries, and very little anger or hard feelings,” he said. “Anyone who visits the island will easily feel at home and see how amazing the islanders are.”