Korean media visit Guam
The Guam Visitors Bureau held a welcoming coffee and meet-and-greet on Dec. 1 in its main conference room for members of various Korean media during a familiarization trip sponsored by GVB and United Airlines. (From left) Samuel V. Shinohara, managing director of business development – Asia Pacific, United Airlines; Jon Nathan P. Denight, deputy general manager, Guam Visitors Bureau; Lt. Gov. Raymond S. Tenorio; Anna Lee, Lonely Planet Korea; Yeri Cha, Tour de Monde magazine; Mina Shim, AB Road; Hyunmin Kim, Grazia Korea magazine; and Jina An, Singles magazine.
Photo courtesy of Guam Visitors Bureau
Multilingual water safety signs installed in Tumon
The Guam Visitors Bureau announced on Nov. 21 that it has replaced outdated beach and water safety signs on popular beaches in Tumon. News signs have been installed around Governor Joseph Flores Memorial (Ypao) Beach Park and Matapang Beach. Another sign was to be erected at Gun Beach. The safety information is in English, Chamorro, Japanese, Korean, Russian and traditional Chinese.
Photo courtesy of Guam Visitors Bureau
Delta named top airline four years in a row
Delta Air Lines announced on Dec. 15 it was named the top airline in the Business Travel News annual airline survey for the fourth consecutive year. Delta is the first airline to hold the rank for four years in a row. The airline ranked first among carriers in all 10 categories, with significant year-over-year gains in each and scoring particularly high in key areas of the survey. Delta was also named the “2014 Airline of the Year” by Air Transport World magazine and was named one of Fortune’s “50 Most Admired Companies” in addition to being named the most admired airline for the third time in four years.
United wins more than two dozen awards in 2014
United Airlines announced on Dec. 5 it had won more than two dozen awards in 2014. United was recognized for its MileagePlus program and corporate social responsibility. The airline also ranked well in customer experience, winning “2014 Airline of the Year” from Global Traveler; “Best North American Airline for International Travel” from Premier Traveler; and “Best North American Airline” fromBusiness Traveller China, Asia-Pacific and Middle East.
Saipan featured in Japanese lifestyle publication
Saipan was featured in the Dec. 27 issue of Dress magazine, a lifestyle magazine for Japanese women in their 30s and 40s. Two representatives from the publication visited Saipan in November to report on the full resort experience of nature, golf, yoga, gourmet dining and an upscale hotel stay. Dress has a circulation of 100,000.
MVA represents NMI in Shanghai
American Consul Barry Zhang, pictured right, visited the Marianas Visitors Authority’s information booth at the China International Travel Mart, the largest professional travel mart in Asia, held in November in Shanghai.
At the travel mart, MVA distributed information and brochures at its booth and held indigenous Carolinian dancing and craft demonstrations. It also was interviewed by more than 20 media, including a live broadcast to 300 million viewers of CCTV’s China Discovery Channel. Other interviews were conducted with Global Times, Travel + Leisure, Travel Weekly China and more. A captioned photo of the NMI cultural dancers was prominently featured in Shanghai Daily.
UOG faculty publish second edition of textbook
Faculty at the University of Guam have released the second edition of an environmental biology textbook titled “Tropical Pacific Island Environment.”
The first edition, published in 1997 by UOG Press, has been used in classrooms throughout the Pacific and abroad for 17 years. University Professors Christopher Lobban and Maria Schefter originally authored the textbook for use in the introductory environmental biology course at UOG.
Released earlier this year, the updated version was published by Best Press Inc. in Hawaii. UOG Professor Frank Camacho and Guam Community College Assistant Professor John Jocson assisted as co-authors, and UOG Professor Rick Castro did the artwork for both editions.
While the first edition focused on the Pacific, the second edition highlights island environments and issues in a global context. The edition includes overviews of ecosystems around the world and utilizes recent information in environmental science, such as observations of the ongoing climate change. It has been used in the curriculum of universities of other islands in Micronesia, Florida and North Carolina.
It can be purchased at the UOG Triton Bookstore for $120. Educators receive a 25% discount with a valid identification card. For more information about purchasing the book, contact the UOG Triton Bookstore at 735-2931.
Guam Philippine consul general launches book
The University of Guam hosted a launch event on Nov. 12 for the new book “The State Department Boys: Philippine Diplomacy and Its American Heritage” written by Marciano R. de Borja, the Philippine consul general for Guam. This is his third book.
The book is set in July 1946 and focuses on a group of pioneer Filipino diplomats chosen to become the first officer corps of the Philippine Foreign Service. The group was affectionately known as the State Department Boys. The group played pivotal roles in Philippine diplomacy and helped the Philippine Republic find its place in the international community.
De Borja is a career diplomat. He previously served as the senior special assistant in the Office of the Undersecretary for Special and Ocean Concerns at the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila. He has also served as minister at the Philippine Mission to the United Nations in New York.
The hardcover book is available for $38 online at the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training website, adst.org. A paperback copy is $26.
Guampedia launches Guam fact book
Guampedia launched a new book on Dec. 8 entitled “101 Amazing Facts about Guam.” The paperback book contains topics spanning seven eras, starting with the earliest known facts about the Chamorro people and continuing to the present. A photo or illustration accompanies each fact. The book was printed by Regal Press in Hong Kong.
“101 Amazing Facts about Guam” is available on the Guampedia website at www.guampedia.com. It can also be purchased at 76/Circle K Gas Station stores on Guam; the T. Stell Newman Visitor Center at the War in the Pacific National Historic Park in Piti; i Puti’on: The Star at Chamorro Village; Guinahan Chamoru at Chamorro Cultural Village at Ypao Point in Tumon; and the Triton Bookstore on the University of Guam.
Proceeds will help suport Guampedia and its projects. Guampedia is a free encyclopedia with more than 1,000 articles, more than 3,000 photos and illustrations and dozens of video and audio clips.