Stop solicitation on Garapan streets

It is not difficult at all for anyone to realize that the strenuous and stubborn solicitation on the streets of Garapan is only annoying the tourists. Not only that, the annoying solicitation is killing the solicitors’ own businesses. The solicitors are demolishing the future business chances as well.

Suppose tourist are strolling on one of these Garapan streets with a plan to try one of those places. What would happen with those tourists if they are suddenly caught by these solicitors with incessant sales talk? Some of the solicitors grab the hands and arms of these tourists and never give up, even in front of the wives and children of the tourists. This annoys and intimidates the tourists. The tourists, who were at the point of choosing one of the places, are now determined to try none of them. It can be concluded that the businesses of these solicitors’ employers will be in better shape if the solicitation on the streets are not done.

At present, in Garapan, you will find 16 massage shops, 13 karaoke bars, nine nightclubs and eight adult shops. Almost all of them are annoying the tourists with their sticky solicitation. On top of that, these days some 20 women are soliciting for prostitution on Beach Road in front of Hafadai Beach Hotel and DFS. The law enforcement authority is strongly expected to clear out this shameful situation, which might jeopardize tourism in the CNMI.

Apart from the anti-prostitution law enforcement, and possible enactment of various new laws, it will be feasible to talk to the owners of non-prostitution-front businesses, namely massage shops and nightclubs, to regulate their solicitation. The nightclub ladies stand at the entrance and call out loudly in unison, “Good evening, this is XXXX.” They usually do not come out to the street and grab the hands and arms of the customers like solicitors of massage shops. It is a pity that the massage shops are chasing their customers away with their solicitation.

I did not know until recently when I listed the massage shops in Garapan in preparation for this letter that 16 shops were existing and the total number of massagers were said to be 100 to 110. It is understandable that they have to come out to the street to secure minimum work load, which is believed to be somewhere between 400 and 500 customers per day for the whole 16 shops in Garapan. But in reality their efforts of catching customers work in reverse; their solicitation efforts only chase away their customers.

To the massage shop owners, please think about the above and act. It will help our businesses and save the tourism in CNMI.

As for the authorities concerned, with your issuance of business permits, 16 massage shops in Garapan are struggling under excessive competition, which seemed to have prompted them to bother the tourists on the streets. If your esteemed office is not efficient enough to persuade and control them, you may have to face the decline of the tourism industry in the CNMI.

Raowan Westower
Puerto Rico, Saipan