Name: Tateki Higa
Age: 42
Position: Sales director-Japan, Ilikai/Hotel Nikko Waikiki
First job: Tour escort, planning
Favorite pastimes: Tennis, golf, time with family

Ilikai gains travel agent's insight

Tateki Higa will use his Asia experiences to pitch the Ilikai/Hotel Nikko Waikiki to Japanese travel agencies, wholesalers, corporations and independent travelers.

"As a former travel agent, I feel that I have some insight to the needs of today's travel trade industry," Higa said. "Which will come in handy with the Asian economy in such a state of turmoil."

Higa came to Hawaii in December with nearly 20 years of experience in the resort industry, most of it working for Nikko hotels in Paris and Narita, near Tokyo.

He also worked as a travel agent in Okinawa.

He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Ryukyu University in Okinawa, and then came to Los Angeles to study English for about 1-1/2 years.

In 1991, The Ilikai became part of Nikko Hotels International which manages 50 hotels worldwide.

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By Jerry Tune, Star-Bulletin