GVB board, management get into yelling match over tourism crisis

Differences between the Guam Visitors Bureau's board of directors and management blew over in a heated exchange during a recent meeting.  Video footage obtained by KUAM News showing GVB president & CEO Carl Guiterrez and chairman George Chiu raising their voices at each other over a delay in the governor’s requested Tourism Recovery Plan. 

Tensions were high as Guam faces a tourism crisis. "I already told you guys many times, I don’t give a crap how many tourists are coming to Guam. All I care about is what is my fair share of the market, of people leaving our source market," declared Chiu.

Gutierrez stated, "I never stopped you. I’m responding. I’m not done yet. I’m not done yet. I’m not done yet, don’t gag me," with Chiu saying, "You’ve responded enough. I’m the chairman," and then slamming a gavel. Gutierrez then said, "Who’s irresponsible? You’re the irresponsible chairman for handing me someone’s outside work and telling me to use that."

As Chiu mentioned, it comes just two weeks after Governor Lou Leon Guerrero showed up at a GVB meeting demanding the board and management to work together to come up with a Tourism Recovery Plan. 

Chiu said, "Did you guys have a chance to meet with management? Why not? They directed me to management to come up with a plan together. A collaborative plan. We were instructed by the governor to do so. Two weeks later, nothing has happened." He seemed to cast blame on management, calling Gutierrez irresponsible. 

In return, the president calling Chiu a bully, with Chiu announcing, "No one is bullying you," and Gutierrez saying, "You are trying to bully me. You are bullying me, but you’re not going to get away with it."

Guiterrez took issue with draft copies of a “Guam Tourism Situation Report and Recovery Plan” published by local tourism executives like former GVB chairman Mark Baldyga distributed by Chiu in the previous meeting. 

Gutierrez said, "I listened to Baldyga on the Ray Gibson show. And I saw him because it was on video. And he said he was going to get $50 million and this is the way we are going to split it up…I watched him. He wants his hands on the GVB funds to do what he did for the last 25 years. It's not going to happen under the management’s watch."

But chiu argues that report was meant to be used as a benchmark to help management come up with the governor’s requested recovery plan.