Babauta leads delegation to woe Japan market anew

Gov. Juan N. Babauta and at least six government and business officials will be knocking on the doors of Japan-based airlines and travel agents all day today to solicit support for the Northern Marianas’ ailing tourism industry.

Babauta left for Japan yesterday with Marianas Visitors Authority chair David M. Sablan, MVA vice chair Marian Aldan-Pierce, MVA board member Yoichi Matsumura, MVA managing director Vicky I. Benavente, Commonwealth Ports Authority executive director Carlos Salas, and Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands president Lynn Knight.

The trip was organized in view of the Northern Marianas’ sluggish performance in the Japan market, the primary source of visitors to the CNMI.

MVA attributes the declining arrivals from Japan to the decreased number of seats available to Japanese travelers. Continental Airlines terminated its Saipan-Nagoya flights in April last year. Further, Japan Airlines and Northwest Airlines have downsized the aircraft used for their Tokyo-Saipan service.

The reduced seat capacity was evident in the arrivals from Japan over the past three months.

In January, the CNMI received 35,795 visitors, a slight increase from the 34,388 Japanese tourists that came in January 2004.

Japan arrivals reached only 34,015 in December 2004, a 2 percent decrease as compared with December 2003. The Northern Marianas, however, fared even worse in the Japan market in the month before that, receiving only 30,454 Japanese tourists—9 percent less than the Japan arrivals in November 2003.

“Arrivals from Japan seem to have leveled off. The numbers have been the same for a long time. There must be something we’re doing wrong. I think we’ve got to show our face more often to the marketplace. Otherwise, they will forget us,” Sablan said.

The delegation’s busy schedule will start with a courtesy visit to Japan Airlines officials at 10am today. The group will be meeting with JAL managing director Makoto Fukada, JAL vice president Ryosuke Hashimoto, and JAL marketing manager Ryoko Suzuki.

At 11:30 am, the delegation will proceed to a meeting with JTB Corp., the biggest travel agency in Japan.

The group’s next stop will be at the Continental Airlines office at 2pm. Babauta and the rest of the delegation will be meeting with Continental-Japan managing director Kiyoshi Mukumoto, marketing and corporate communications director Koji Nagata, and marketing program manager Yoshimi Matsuura.

At 3:30pm, the delegation will pay a courtesy visit to Northwest Airlines officials Jim Mueller, managing director for Asia, and Jeffrey Bernier, sales director for Japan.

The team will call on two more travel agencies before the day ends. A visit with Holiday Tours Micronesia is scheduled for 5:30pm and with Kintetsu International at 6pm.