MVA salutes employees in tourism business

Employees who have served in various tourism-related business for 10 years or more will be given commendations by the Marianas Visitors Authority for their valuable contribution in the growth of the tourism industry.

The recognition day and awarding of winners in the Chef Competition will be held on May 29, 1999 at the American Memorial Park where the first food festival on the island is being held.

According to Marianas Visitors Authority deputy managing director Vicky Benavente, next year’s food festival will be a bigger event as members of the Japan Saipan Travel Association have pledged to assist in promoting the affair.

Promotion of the food festival was limited to print media advertisement in Tokyo and Saipan as the event coincided with the reorganization of the MVA office in Japan and the hiring of a new advertising company, said Benavente.

Although the promotion was very limited, MVA reported that sales of food in various huts manned by different hotels jumped from $4,678 on the first Saturday last May 1, to $10,482 on May 22, 1999.

“It only proves that we have a market for it. At the same time, people were able to buy food prepared by various hotels at cheaper prices while listening to good music,” said Benavente. The affair this Saturday will be a night of fun and entertainment as MVA expect three bands to perform on the last day of the food festival.

During a meeting with chefs of various hotels and restaurants, Benavente urged them to give their recommendations on how the MVA can make next year’s food festival a more colorful affair.

While the event gave life to the otherwise dull atmosphere in the once bustling Garapan area, it also became a venue for the chefs to show their culinary skills during the competition in different categories: soup, salad, main entree and dessert.

Winners in their respective categories: Soup: First place Plumeria Resort Hotel; Second Place Hafa Adai Beach Hotel and Third Place Plumeria Resort Hotel; Salad: First Place Hotel Nikko Saipan, Second Place Dai Ichi Hotel and Third Place Plumeria Resort Hotel; Main Entree: First Place, Plumeria Resort Hotel, Second Place, Hotel
Nikko Saipan, Third Place, Hyatt Regency; Dessert: First Place Hafa Adai Beach Hotel, Second Place, Dai Ichi Hotel and Third Place Pacific Gardenia Hotel.