An award ceremony was held at the GVB office yesterday afternoon with a number of dignitaries present to commend the agency’s efforts. Among those in attendance were Lt. Gov. Ray Tenorio, Sen. Tina Muña-Barnes, Dr. Anita Borja Enriquez of the University of Guam, Kenneth Lujan of the Small Business Administration, and Mary Torres of the Guam International Airport Authority.
John Holman, director of the Pacific Islands Region for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Commercial Services division, presented GVB with the Export Achievement Certificate.
Holman commended GVB in saying they have “worked hard in promoting Guam all over the world.”
He also applauded GVB Marketing Manager Pilar Laguaña, who he says has led the charge for Guam and has done a phenomenal job for the years she has been with the agency.
Recently, Holman pointed out, Laguaña and GVB General Manager Joann Camacho returned from a five-city tour in China. While they were in Shanghai, he said they had meetings with officials and asked what they could do to speed up the process to ensure charter flights coming to Guam are full.
He also spoke about how GVB had helped initiate the Group Leisure Travel booking system – an expedited system to ensure tourists and students interested in traveling to Guam or the U.S. are able to get their visas.
“I’m proud to report that as a result of those efforts, today the wait time for those applying for tourist or student visas … in Shanghai is down to six days and the acceptance rate is over 90 percent,” stated Holman. He said he hopes to roll out that program in other parts of China.
