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This year could be the turning
point for Rongelap’s fledgling dive and fishing service.
Twenty groups have booked to
visit Rongelap in 2005 — the most ever — and Rongelap Atoll
Local Government Mayor James Matayoshi is optimistic that
the operation will soon be at least breaking even on
expenses.
“We’ve had a spike in
customer interest this year,” says Matayoshi of the bookings
for 2005.
Rongelap has been promoting
scuba diving, sportsfishing, and island tours for several
years in hopes of cashing in on the pristine quality of the
marine environment at Rongelap and neighboring Ailingnae and
Rongerik Atolls.
The Rongelap local government and Pacific International
Inc., its partner in Rongelap Adventures, have been
subsidizing the operation during its initial phase. But
Matayoshi is optimistic that, “This may be the year that we
can stop subsidizing Rongelap Adventures.”
In addition to chartering
the dive vessel Oleanda for lodging, Rongelap is planning to
build bungalow units for tourists visiting the northern
atoll.
“We’re trying to find a
partner to match $305,000 of what we have in leftover
scientific funding (from the US government),” Matayoshi
says.
He sees the bungalow units
as giving Rongelap a land-based tourist operation. The time
is ripe for their construction, given the estimated 200
tourists who have signed on to dive and fish at Rongelap
this year. |
