Evans secures tourism expansion deal with Japan

U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans kicked off his first trip to Asia by signing an agreement with Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation Chikagi Oogi to revitalize and grow travel and tourism between the two countries.

Relatedly, a department delegation led by Deputy Assistant Secretary Douglas B. Baker visited the Commonwealth over the weekend to check how the slump in tourism has affected the CNMI and to convey the department’s commitment toward helping the territories revive the visitor industry.

Baker said that, although the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between Japan and the U.S. do not specifically contain language that includes the CNMI, the intent of the agreement and its eventual results would hopefully spill into the Commonwealth.

The signing of the MOU was witnessed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Howard Baker.

“This is a milestone event for the travel and tourism industry in the U.S., which suffered a serious setback from the tragedies of September 11, as well as for Japan’s travel sector. We are sending a clear signal to potential travelers: travel between the United States and Japan is safe, and both our countries offer world-class travel and tourism opportunities,” Evans said.

The agreement reached with Japan’s government calls for establishment of a Tourism Export Expansion Council, which will be co-chaired by Evans and Oogi. The work of the Council wil1 be primarily carried out and funded by private sector travel and tourism concerns. Over the next five years, the Council will aim to recapture the approximate 20 percent loss in tourism business both countries have suffered since September 11. Working groups led by industry representatives will tackle marketing and promotion, product development, public and media relations, and education and training. Evans and Oogi will lead working groups focused on research and safety issues. The agreement specifically calls for inclusion of small- and medium-sized businesses, which felt the impact of the post-September11 travel decline particularly severely, among the Council’s membership. The Council is expected to meet twice a year.

U.S. industry leaders witnessing the signing ceremony included John Marriott of Marriott Corporation; Cristyne L. Nicholas of NYC & Company; and George Kirkland of the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Evans also met with his Japanese counterpart, Minister Takeo Hiranuma of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, to express the United States’ support for Japan in addressing its economic challenges, to discuss how the two countries can work together to promote entrepreneurship and innovation, and to explore ways to build closer commercial relations between the U.S. and Japan.

In remarks prepared for a luncheon meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce in Tokyo, Evans said that, because of the incredible commercial successes of Japan and the U.S., “I believe we owe it to ourselves—and the rest of the world—to do all we can to be engines of economic growth particularly in today’s sluggish economy.”

The next stop on Evan’s Asia trip is Beijing, China, where he will lead a business development mission comprised of 15 top-level executives from U.S. firms of all sizes as they explore new commercial opportunities in China. Before continuing on to Shanghai with the business mission, Evans also will co-chair the 15th annual meeting of the Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, a forum devoted to preempting and tackling potential problems and impediments to trade between the U.S. and China before they become real problems. With J. Vallejera