By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

GUAM recently sent a delegation to South Korea to woo businesses and high net worth individuals there to invest on island.
According to Guam Visitors Bureau general manager Gerry Perez, the timing for Guam’s road show was excellent since the Korean government recently allowed an increase in Korean overseas investments.
“The present appeared to be the most opportune time to orchestrate the event, since the Korean government has allowed an increase in individual overseas investment figures from $1 million to $3 million,” Perez said.
GVB is also seeking to increase its share of Korean overseas travel, especially now that visitor arrivals from Japan are decreasing.
Visitors from Korea have also been on the upswing and a recent poll showed that Guam was the third favorite destination of Korean honeymooners.
GVB has long been marketing Guam as a wedding and honeymoon destination for Koreans, citing the short distance between the two places, and the bureau’s efforts appear to be paying off.
“Korea outbound has increased to an average of 14 percent during the last two years and our arrival numbers show a 13 percent increase from calendar year 2005,” Perez said.
The delegation participated in a Korea-Guam Investment Seminar held at the Lotte Seoul Hotel.
Aside from GVB, the group also included officials from the Guam International Airport Authority, the Guam Chamber of Commerce, Ernst & Young, Deloitte & Touché, and the Bank of Guam.
The delegation spoke to over 60 participants from the various tourism, construction, financial, real estate and government industries in Korea.
“The investment seminar has been on Gov. Felix P. Camacho’s agenda for some time now and we are pleased to have facilitated the event. Through the support of the Guam panel, as well as the U.S. Embassy in Korea whose presence and inquiries have made a substantial difference, the assistance of the Korean Association of Guam, and the involvement of Mr. Ben Palacios, we were able to carry out a very informative and critical presentation,” added Perez.
At the completion of the seminar, GVB chairman David Tydingco was able to engage in further talks and as a result, GVB said potential investors will be arriving soon.