Gutierrez: On the road again… | Opinion

Halfaday! Destination Guam has weathered the typhoon recovery period, and the pandemic’s travel restrictions have disappeared from the rearview mirror.

Tourism in the Asia-Pacific region is on the rise and rebounding fast, and Guam Tourism is fully participating in regional tourism trade missions and expos in the post-pandemic era, offering affordable flights and branded travel packages to one of our tourist destinations. A kind of tropical paradise.

Over the past few weeks, GVB has sent two delegations out of the island to promote our destination to the regional travel industry with airlines and agents.

GVB Board Director Ho S. Eun, Global Marketing Director Nadine Leon Guerrero, Korean Marketing Managers Margaret Sablan and Nicole Benavente, Miss Guam International 2020 Franky Lynn Aguon Hill, and music artists Vince San Nicolas and Suemalee Quinata participated in the GVB Korea Roadshow with representatives from various Travel to Busan, Daegu, and Gwangju with a variety of hotels and optional tours with a host of local travel partners.

Also joining GVB are Crowne Plaza Guam, Dusit Thani Guam Resort, Dusit Beach Resort Guam, The Bayview Hotel Guam, Fisheye Marine Park, Guam Ocean Park, Hoshino Resorts RISONARE Guam, Hyatt Regency Guam, Lotte Hotel Guam , Onward Mangilao Golf Club, Onward Talofofo Golf Club, Pacific Islands Club Guam, Royal Orchid Hotel Guam, Sentinel Hotel Group Guam, Wyndham Garden Guam, Grand Plaza Guam and The Westin Resort Guam.

To revitalize Korean tourists and further develop routes to secondary cities, the Guam delegation met with more than 300 travel agency and airline partners to update Guam, rebuild relationships, and make new connections after a four-year hiatus. The last GVB Roadshow of 2019. Korean tourists remain Guam’s second-highest spending group, after Taiwan.

Meanwhile, I traveled to Japan with Regina Nedlic, Japan Marketing Manager, Elaine Pangelinan, GVB Marketing Manager, and Mai Perez, Japan Marketing Coordinator, for the Kashiwa Matsuri festival at the end of July, a large annual international celebration in Kashiwa, Chiba activities. An hour’s drive from Tokyo, as part of the bureau’s strategy to rebuild sister-city and sister-city relationships with destination Guam.

Guam and Kashiwa City have maintained a long-term friendship of more than two decades in terms of education, culture and residential programs. I had the pleasure of attending the festival ribbon-cutting ceremony and meeting Ms. Kazumi Ota, Mayor of Kashiwa, who gave us a warm welcome – a veritable warm welcome! It was very hot in Japan at that time! The weekend music festival attracts more than 700,000 people on this hot summer day.

We sponsored a Guam booth during the festivities, distributed thousands of Guam-themed bags, and ran digital and social promotions. Our delegation also paraded through the streets of Kashiwa with Guam’s very own Chamoru Dance Academy (GCDA) dancers, Guma’ Taitao Kinahulo’ Atdao Na Tåno from Japan, who shared our joy with beautiful smiles and enthusiasm Native Music They understand our island’s proud Chamorro heritage.

Participation in the Kashiwa Festival is important in solidifying our plans to resume our homestay program by the end of the year.

Our delegation also paid a courtesy visit to Mr. Kenichi Kiriyama, United’s new General Manager of Japan and Micronesia Sales, and the UA Japan team to discuss upcoming initiatives and how we can work together to drive more travelers to Guam forward.

Finally, we had in-depth meetings with the GVB Japan team to strategize and actively identify opportunities to drive arrivals from Hawaii, the continental US, Japan, Korea and South East Asia with signatories and low-cost carriers without caps New possibilities Airline, charter or scheduled flights.

This fall, GVB will continue to promote Guam as a destination at the following annual events:

MATTA Fair, 1-3 September: During the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents event, GVB’s exhibition at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Center in Kuala Lumpur will promote travel to Guam for consumers from more than a dozen destinations, including Australia Visa-free travel to Brunei, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

IMEX America, October 17-19: Global Incentive Expo is called “A Powerful Show” and “The Most Productive, Creative, Well-Designed, Inclusive, High-Value You Can Bring to Yourself This Year” and an enjoyable business and learning experience” Mandalay Bay Convention Center’s trips, meetings and events promise “three days of targeted, purposeful business conversations that will pay off invaluable”. GVB once again co-sponsors Dusit Thani Resorts at IMEX America 2023 with a mission to make Guam the destination of choice for the meetings, incentives, meetings (congress) and events (exhibition) (MICE) market in the Asia Pacific region.

Japan Travel Expo, October 26-29: Organized by the Japan Travel and Tourism Association (JTTA), Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA), Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), in special cooperation with the All Japan Association of Travel Agents (ANTA), this fair It will be held at the Osaka Big Sight in the Kansai region of western Japan. The Travel Expo is Japan’s largest trade and consumer show, and GVB and its travel partners will exhibit to promote and sell Guam’s brand as clean, safe, secure and as the closest U.S. destination to Japan.

Taipei International Travel Fair (TITF), Nov. 3-6: Organized by the Taiwan Tourism Association, the event is the largest travel fair in Taipei, attracting hundreds of buyers and consumers. GVB will hold an exhibition at the Nangang Exhibition Center in Taipei, Taiwan to promote and sell “Destination Guam”.

Fulfilling the Guam Promise

As the Bureau and its travel industry players actively promote the U.S. destination of Guam as open with available seats and seating capacity, all touchpoints should be sensitive to the modern needs of today’s East Asian source markets.

This means a strong value proposition for East Asian currencies against the U.S. dollar, and fast, low-touch, time-saving technology that can help travelers pre-plan trips, avoid long lines, instantly select and reach accessible points of interest, and stay seamless dial. And pay as quickly as possible at the fast point of sale with minimal queue times at retail checkouts.

It also means taking the time to understand why visitors are traveling. If traveling on business, does the hotel’s guest services include access to office equipment and high-speed Internet? How about ample meeting and exhibition space?

What are the safety guarantees of remote bungalows, optional tours and excursions if it is strictly a tropical green resort?

If grandparents, parents and children arrive together, what family-friendly entertainment is on the agenda and what accommodations are best for guests of different ages and interests?

How do we infuse the spirit of Håfa Adai into every authentic visitor experience? Sadly, I still see some retailers peddling Hawaiian culture as if Guam is just an extension of Aloha State. Long before tourism as we know it began, the Guam destination has always had a 4,000-year-old Chamorro culture to build upon and learn from!

What profits and capital reserves can hoteliers reinvest in employee development, cross-cultural sensitivity training, and resort renovations? Furthermore, how can the public and private sectors work together to ensure tourists feel welcome, safe, comfortable, respected and supported from ground transportation to attractions and back to paid accommodation?

Also, how do we work together as a community to attract the right tourism investment into villages beyond Tumon Bay?

Finally, how do we scale and maintain our operations to meet demand without unnecessary delays and disruptions?

By thinking about these things and always providing immediate service with a smile, destination development, marketing and management programs will result in eager return visits and happy travel recommendations for years to come.