THE public relations offices of the Marianas Visitors Authority in three major areas in Japan are already closed.
Acting MVA Managing Director Vicky I. Benavente told Variety that MVA’s offices in Nagoya, Tokyo and Osaka had been closed since April 1.
“We have terminated our contract with Aim since April 1. We had our contract with Aim for three years. We want to try a new direction,” Benavente said.
She said the MVA board of directors had decided to terminate the tourism agency’s contract with Aim Corp., the Japan-based management firm that operated CNMI’s three satellite offices in Japan at a cost of over $40,000 a month.
MVA has already issued two requests for proposals in Japan. The first proposal solicits services from companies that can function as MVA’s satellite offices.
The other proposal solicits inquiries from manpower agencies that can provide MVA with Japanese staff to man its satellite offices.
MVA officials will then decide which method is more favorable given their limited budget.
Meantime, two Japanese contact agencies of MVA’s advertising agency, the Honolulu-based Starr Seigle Communications, is temporarily handling promotions for the CNMI in Japan.
“The (promotions) are still going very strong,” Benavente said.
“Although our ad agency is based in Honolulu, it has a strong grasp of what needs to be done. They are carrying on the same duties and responsibilities as our off-shore representative offices,” she added.
But some major players in the local tourism industry, who requested anonymity, told Variety that the sudden pullout of MVA’s satellite offices was causing them “a lot of headache.”
They said Japanese tourists seeking more information about the CNMI were having difficulty obtaining materials, especially those based in Osaka, the second largest market of the local tourism industry in Japan.
But Benavente said the situation “is still under control.” She said the same materials found in their former satellite offices are still being distributed.
Lawmakers have previously criticized MVA for spending a significant amount of money to maintain satellite offices in Japan without reaping the full benefits in terms of an increase in the tourist arrivals rate.
The House Committee on Tourism said the Federated States of Micronesian embassy received about 20 calls a day from individuals looking for the MVA satellite offices in Japan because their locations were not “ideal.”
