Katsutoshi Nagayama, president of Hafa Adai, which owns 231 hotels throughout Japan, said it pains him to cut their workforce but the current economic situation on the islands forced the management to make tough decisions.
Hafa Adai is a 400-plus room hotel with three buildings — the seven-story main wing, the 10-story Crystal Tower and the 18-story Taga Tower.
Some laid-off workers said they are having difficulty finding new jobs as other hotels have also reduced their workforce or work-hours.
Nagayama said his company will not be defeated by the economic crisis.
However, he added, the government should also aggressively help the local tourism industry, the backbone of the local economy.
Through interpreter Kayoko Hashimoto, special assistant to the president, Nagayama said Japanese tourists don’t mind spending money traveling to Saipan because the fare is just the same when traveling between key cities in Japan.
“Saipan is really close to Japan. It’s not expensive to come to Saipan. It’s the same price to go between Osaka and Tokyo by bullet train,” Nagayama said.
But the problem is it’s becoming difficult to market the destination among the Japanese public because other overseas places offer more attractions.
“Many guests from Japan said there are not many activities here. No entertainment. The government should do something to bring tourists. Except for diving and golfing there’s nothing much to do,” he said.
He also noted that golfing here has become more expensive.
“The tourist price is too high and Japanese tourists know the price difference,” he added.
