Recovering Jap arrivals benefit local businesses

CEBU, Philippines - The recovering arrivals of Japanese tourists to the Philippines have benefited businesses, specifically businesses that cater to the Japanese tourists such as restaurants.Restaurant chain Nonki, which specializes in authentic Japanese food has expanded its network to five outlets and in fact, has started its nationwide venture by opening a stand-alone restaurant in Davao City early this year.

In an interview with Nonki chain owner Ligaya Arong-Machida she said that aside from the growing number of Filipinos now appreciating Japanese food, the Japanese arrival rebound has helped the company expand its business, since it started in 2004.

Surprisingly, she said the influx of Koreans to the Philippines has also made Japanese restaurants like Nonki to thrive, as “they [Koreans] are our second largest customers.”

Record from the Department of Tourism (DOT) revealed that as of April this year, Japanese tourist arrivals to the Philippines increased by 17 percent, from a total of 28,542 in the first three months of 2011, to 33,426 as of April this year.

The increasing Japanese arrivals to the Philippines, and Koreans patronizing authentic Japanese food, and the improving preference of Filipinos to dine-out and try non-Filipino dishes helped her business flourish, although it experienced hiccup in the last few years due to economic crisis.

This time, Arong-Machida said restaurant business for specialized dishes such as Japanese cuisine is lucrative as long as quality and service are maintained.

Arong-Machida, together with Japanese national husband Akira, established the Nonki Restaurant eight years ago at its first outlet along A.S. Fortuna Street in Mandaue City. It later expanded to open a mall-based branch in SM City Cebu, one on Mactan Island, and recently opened two branches in newly opened commercial strip in Banawa called “One Pavilion”, and its first out-of-Cebu outlet in Davao City.

Although, there are a lot of inquiries for franchising, Ligaya said, her husband prefers not to open Nonki for franchise deals in order to maintain the quality of the food.

She said they wanted to preserve the known-quality of “Nonki” by operating the chain personally, rather than opening it to franchise and ultimately ruin their quality reputation.

She said Cebu's market for Japanese food offering has improved significantly with the locals have starting to love the Japanese food.

In the past, majority of its clients were the Japanese expatriates and the discriminating wealthy Cebuanos.

Now, the market has expanded and the monthly earners, middle-range young professionals have become a good market for this kind of food preparation.

Known for its love in wellness and leisure, the Japanese market rebound is seen to further boost the wellness, healthcare, entertainment, dining, retail and even real estate sectors in the province. (FREEMAN)