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Fitial meets with hotel chain execs
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Posted on Mar 03 2006
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial flew to Japan yesterday to meet with management of an international luxury hotel chain that has expressed interest in establishing a hotel in the Northern Marianas.
Fitial is reportedly meeting with officials of Okura Hotels and Resorts, which operates 23 hotels worldwide.
Acting Gov. Timothy P. Villagomez said the governor would have news regarding the potential investment upon his return on Monday, March 6, 2006.
He expressed hope that the governor’s meeting with Okura Hotels and Resorts would yield a similar positive result.
Established in 1962, Okura Hotels and Resorts operates 16 hotels throughout Japan. The company also owns The Shilla, which has properties in Seoul and in Jeju in Korea; the Okura Garden Hotel Shanghai; the Halekulani and the Waikiki Parc Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii; the Guam Hotel Okura THE TOWER; and the Hotel Okura Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
Okura Hotels has a total of 7,440 rooms worldwide.
Fitial is on his second off-island trip as governor. He used personal funds to pay for both trips, the administration said.
His first trip, which took place last month, also included a visit to Japan, as well as the Philippines. Then, the governor had successfully requested Northwest Airlines to increase flight frequency between Tokyo and Saipan.
Northwest will operate three additional flights weekly beginning April 24 through October this year.
The Fitial-Villagomez administration, upon taking office in January 2006, has vowed to share responsibility by allowing the lieutenant governor to handle most of the administrative duties while the governor focuses on attracting investments to the Commonwealth.
