Media drawn to Guam

Aaron Joel Santos, photographer (left) and Duncan Forgan, writer, visited Guam from Bangkok to research stories for Ink Publishing and Travel and Leisure magazine.

A media group including two Thailand-based journalists and a Korean-based blogger visited the Valley of the Latte Adventure Park in Talofofo on July 30. Ronald Laguana accompanied them on behalf of the Guam Visitors Bureau.

Star performers visit Guam to raise funds to fight cancer

Constantine Maroulis, 2005 American Idol finalist and star of the Broadway musical “Rock of Ages,” and Philippine child star Krystal Brimner, who portrays Annie in Resort Worlds Manila’s theater production of “Annie,” performed at the 2016 Pink Ball on Aug. 6 at the Dusit Thani Guam Resort. The Pink Ball benefits Guam Cancer Care.

Delta One introduces premium brands in amenity kits

Delta One amenity kits have been refreshed to include Tumi and Kiehl’s Since 1851. The kits were introduced on July 1 on Delta One flights, including transoceanic international flights and flights between John F. Kennedy International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport/ San Francisco International Airport.

The kits include Kiehl’s Lip Balm and grapefruit-scented Deluxe Hand and Body Lotion with Aloe Vera and Oatmeal and hard- and soft-cased Tumi bags. Customers receive a navy hard-sided amenity kit outbound from the United States and a soft-sided black amenity kit when inbound to the United States. The kits also include a Tumi soft touch pen and eye shades, striped socks, a dental kit featuring Crest toothpaste, tissues, mouthwash and ear plugs.

The Northern Mariana Islands was featured by several international media outlets:

• Japan internet travel website tabippo.net visited Saipan and Tinian from June 29 to July 2 to shoot a wide array of travel coverage to be featured from July 19 through September. The coverage targets young travelers in their 20s and 30s and is expected to generate $50,000 worth of advertising exposure for the NMI. The website receives 1.5 million page views each month.
• Top Travel Magazine featured Saipan and Tinian in a photo and video shoot with popular Chinese actor Bo Huang in April. The tour resulted in a 12-page feature and cover in the June issue of Top Travel, three WeChat articles, four posts on the social networking site Weibo — including one post by Huang — and a promotion on four video websites reaching 2.9 million viewers and totaling an estimated $1.8 million in advertising exposure.

Huang is considered one of the top actors in China and the top-grossing domestic film star at the Chinese box office, grossing more than $900 million. He has won several awards for Best Actor in various film festivals, including the Golden Horse Awards, the Tripod Award, China Film Society of Performing Arts Award and the Vancouver Chinese Film Festival. Huang also has more than 27 million Weibo followers.

• The Marianas Visitors Authority and Dynasty Holiday hosted the first packaged beach yoga group from China to Saipan on June 24 to 28 to film “Yoga Retreat in the CNMI” in recognition of International Yoga Day on June 21. The group included 10 yoga lovers, an instructor and three journalists and photographers from Guangdong Radio and TV station, who shot the short film. “Yoga Retreat in the CNMI” will be released via GRT’s Cruise and Travel channel, WeChat, and major websites including tencent.com, tudou.com and youku.com. GRT has more than two million daily viewers. The program was scheduled to air on July 15.
• The Korea Broadcasting Systems TV entertainment travel program Battle Trip aired an episode filmed in Saipan on July 23, bringing an estimated $1.3 million in advertisement exposure to the NMI. The 60-minute broadcast is accompanied by newsletter and press release distribution and social media postings by participating celebrities. The film crew visited the NMI from June 20 to 24. Featured celebrities include musician Lee Jae-hoon, producer/musician Muji and media personality Yae Jung-hwa. “Battle Trip” will be aired via KBS2 with an anticipated 5%-6% viewer rating; approximately 2.6 million viewers are expected to watch the program.

Dusit Thani Guam Resort to offer newest amenity to guests

Dusit International will be offering guests unlimited access to more than 5,000 publications and magazines worldwide through the PressReader application, which can be downloaded on any digital device, such as a smartphone, tablet or eReader. Guests can also access content using a laptop via a web browser. The application offers full content, with replica newspapers and magazines, including USA Today, The Daily Mail, Shanghai Daily, The Nation, Post Today and magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Men’s Health, Harper’s Bazaar, Business Traveller, Elle and Forbes Daily. Dusit Thani Guam Resort is among the first batch of participating hotels and resorts.