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‘Tough tourism competition requires cooperation’
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Posted on Dec 14 2004
Tourism industry players must work more closely together to enable the Northern Marianas to keep up with a growingly competitive industry, a Hyatt Regency Saipan executive said.
Kaku said the Northern Marianas is expected to face more competition for the Asian market in 2005, with the opening of China to foreign visitors. He added that the only way the CNMI can cope is through teamwork and cooperation.
To get this message across, the hotel hosted a get-together on Monday night for some 130 airline representatives, tour agents, and other members of the local tourism industry.
Hyatt sales and marketing director Ken Kaku said the Industry Night was held as a year-end appreciation party for groups and individuals who have made 2004 a considerably successful year for Hyatt and the entire CNMI tourism industry.
“2004 has been a wonderful year for Hyatt. We are expecting to finish with an 80-percent average room occupancy rate and a $130 average nightly room rate,” Kaku said. “It has been our most successful year for the past four or five years, and we have the airlines, tour agents and everybody in the tourism industry to thank for it.”
He said that while Hyatt has been holding the Industry Night annually for the past several years, last Monday’s event was more special in that the organizers had the participants interact with people from other companies.
“People have the tendency to sit at the same table with their workmates. At this party, we tried to spread out the guests and get them to mingle with other people. After all, we’re on the same team [on] this island,” Kaku said.
