MARIANAS Visitors Authority’s satellite offices in Japan may have spent a lot without necessarily getting the kind of tourism promotion that the CNMI badly needs.
The House Committee on Tourism, after its recent fact finding mission in Japan, has found out why management firms contracted by MVA to staff its satellite public relations offices did not fully benefit the commonwealth.
The office, which displayed CNMI promotional materials, was not located in the main downtown Tokyo area, but in “sordid” Roppongi. It took committee members two days to locate the office. The Federated States of Micronesia ambassador’s office receives up to 20 calls a day from individuals looking for the Saipan office, it was learned.
Committee Chairman Frank DLG. Aldan, R-Saipan, said the panel members also found that the management firm operating CNMI representative offices in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, which were paid $40,083 a month, “determined the office location” that apparently did not help attract more tourists for the CNMI.
Acting MVA Managing Director Vicky I. Benavenete declined to comment on this issue.
Knowing that this problem must be addressed, the House of Representatives during Wednesday’s special session passed H.B. 13-79, which was introduced by Rep. Ramon A. Tebuteb, R-Saipan.
The measure seeks to add a new subsection to a statute that would enable MVA to hire non-resident workers for professional and technical positions.
Aldan explained in the committee report that the bill would help MVA maximize tourism promotion.
“If the bill becomes law, MVA would be able to hire its own professional technical and marketing staff to work in Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and China. These professionals will be tasked with penetrating these markets and establishing the CNMI as a premiere tourist destination,” Aldan said.
The foreign professionals, Aldan said, would also be responsible for creating public relations offices in each of these locations.
The committee’s review of the cost analysis submitted by MVA comparing the estimated costs of hiring directly versus contracting with a management agency in Japan revealed that monthly expenses will be reduced by approximately $5,643 if MVA decides to operate only one strategic office in Japan.
