Guam Visitors Bureau considers merged tourism recovery plan

The Guam Visitors Bureau is charging forward with a unified front to revive the island’s lagging tourism industry.

GVB Management presented to the board a Combined Tourism Recovery Plan during a recent board meeting. 

Guam Chamber Of Commerce Chairman Ernie Galito looks forward to the public-private partnership. 

“I think there’s going to be more of an amiable relationship between the management and board of directors. I think with that, there will be a lot of healing and a lot more cooperation. And I think, together with the industry partners to put together that Guam industry plan, there’s going to be a cohesive collaborative effort in order to get Guam back on track,” said Galito. 

The merged plan prioritizes airline incentives, targeted marketing campaigns and destination development among others, according to acting President Gerry Perez. 

“We wanted to be more focused on the execution and collaboration of initiatives that we developed together. We have set up already and continue to incorporate what we call SMART goals. These are clear actionable, management doable objectives. We talked about this a few minutes ago, the need for major financial investments in marketing and events,” said Perez. 

Governor Lou Leon Guerrero has also committed additional funding to GVB for airline incentives for the Korean market, according to GVB Board Treasurer Ho Eun. 

He said GVB’s airline mission to South Korea, which the Governor led, had ‘very fruitful’ meetings with airline CEO’s and executives. 

“We are expecting very good and positive responses and actions and flight changes from four different airlines. Possibly, we can have an additional airline after the Korean Air and Asiana Airline merger is completed,” said Eun. 

Galito said increasing seat capacity is just the start. 

“The three main components of any successful destination are the three a’s. One is airlift, one is accommodations and last thing is attractions. So in order to attract the man, you have to have things for people to see and do and experience. But they have to be able to get here,” added Galito. 

GVB is expected to take action on the merged recovery plan at their Dec. 5 meeting. 

Meantime, the search for a new GVB President and CEO is ongoing.