It’s been a little over a week on the job for Guam Visitors Bureau’s new President and CEO Regine Biscoe Lee. 

“A friend of mine asked me; if you could sum it up in one word, what would you say?' And I told him 'wow.' There's just a lot going on and there's a lot that the team is already involved in,” said Biscoe Lee

A busy first week as the former senator steps into the shoes of former Governor Carl Gutierrez after he resigned last November.

“But I think that just the warmth and the energy from my team here and from many stakeholders in the industry makes me really confident stepping into this role and eager to really do the work,” added Biscoe Lee. 

As we hit half a decade on the road to recovery, we ask her to give a grade to our current state of tourism. 

“I would give us a C plus. There's a lot of room to grow, a lot of things that have been done well. We should continue to do those things, but definitely try to think about pivoting more towards free and independent travelers,” she said. 

Her immediate priorities to help recover the industry include destination improvement and targeted marketing efforts to the top three markets of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.

“I spent the last two years or so working on a tourism recovery plan and that gave me an opportunity to speak with over 60 different stakeholders across the entire industry. So from front line staff to hotel owners, cultural practitioners, local business owners who are intimately involved in tourism and frankly folks who should be more involved. So really listening to them and thinking about how we can transform this industry and just do a better job of telling our story to visitors, encourage them to come and see what a beautiful and unique destination Guam is,” she added. 

On the road to recovery, it's no secret her predecessor butted heads with the board quite often and publicly. 

Respect will always be top of mind as she works together with the board to streamline recovery.

“I think it's a really interesting time for me to take the helm here at GVB. We're celebrating Mes CHamoru, we're celebrating Women's History Month. I think I bring a lot of those CHamoru values to this leadership role and that means focusing on things like inafa'maolek and bringing people together, focusing on respect in the way that we agree and disagree and we can do that respectfully,” she said. 

Plus she’s already building a relationship with Tourism Oversight Chair Sen. Jesse Lujan as she testified during a public hearing today. 

In the meantime, another task on her plate is finding a candidate for Vice President as Gerry Perez looks to step away.

“He's been very excited to welcome me and help with the transition but he's eagerly looking for his next thing. So in terms of the vice president role, I'm still considering it and still speaking with our board, and obviously the governor and lt governor and many others to figure out who would be best to be a partner with me and help move our mission forward,” she said.