Photos courtesy of University of Guam PressPress
UOG Press releases two new books
The University of Guam released two new books in July, “Lina’la’: Portraits of Life at Litekyan,” a publication of the Richard Flores Taitano Micronesian Area Research Center with multiple contributors and “An Islander’s Voice,” by poet laureate of Guam Frederick B. Quinene.
The University of Guam Press held a book launch for “Lina’la’” on July 26 at the Jose P. Lujan House in Hagåtña. “Lina’la’” features photography, educational illustrations and stories about the village of Litekyan in Northern Guam.
“An Islander’s Voice,” a collection of poems by Quinene featuring black-and-white photography by Ron J. Castro, was launched on July 12 at the UOG MARC.
Gov. Ricardo J. Bordallo declared Quinene poet laureate on Aug. 4, 1986.
GVB has strong showing at Korea travel shows
Guam Visitors Bureau and its travel partners had the largest booth at the Hana Tour International Show and won the award for best booth design at the Korea World Travel Fair, both held last June in Seoul.
At both shows, the Guam delegation offered attractions such as performances by local musicians Jesse Bais and Ruby Santos, cultural dancers, photo opportunities with Miss Guam Universe 2017 Myana Welch and a 360-degree virtual reality tour of the island.
GVB also met with Korean Air and Jeju Air to exchange information and develop its relationship with the airlines and participated in the CAPA Low Cost Carrier in North Asia Conference to network with various airlines in the Asia region.
6th Annual Guam BBQ Block Party winners announced
Guam Visitors Bureau announced the winners of the 6th Annual Pleasure Island Guam BBQ Block Party BBQ Competition that was held on July 7 in Tumon.
The Micronesian Chefs Association partnered with GVB to host and judge the competition. The top three teams in three categories — pork, chicken and beef — received trophies and $4,600 in prize money. Ten teams competed this year. Meskla’s Chef Peter Duenas was awarded overall 2018 Ultimate Grill Master Champion for the second year in a row.
The top teams in each category were:
Pork:
First Place: Team Meskla
Second Place: Team Outrigger Guam Beach Resort
Third Place: Team Guam Barbecue Company
Chicken:
First Place: Team GCC Culinary Fire
Second Place: Team Meskla
Third Place: Team Guam Barbecue Company
Beef:
First Place: Team Meskla
Second Place: Team Dokngos (Pacific Islands Club)
Third Place: Team Dusit Thani
MVA hosts Chinese actress and entertainer in the NMI
The Marianas Visitors Authority hosted Chinese actress and entertainer Rachel Momo for a familiarization tour of the Northern Mariana Islands in cooperation with two Chinese media outlets. Momo has 10 million fans on Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo and 4.8 million fans on Douvin, a Chinese video social media platform. She also appeared in several TV series and reality shows. During the visit, photos and video footage of Momo were taken for a video feature on Haibao.com and a cover story for the August issue of Nexus magazine.
Noted Taiwanese dive photographer eyes Rota
Yorko Summer, a Taiwanese dive photographer who was named Marianas Ocean Tourism Ambassador by the Marianas Visitors Authority, led a familiarization tour to Rota where he was joined by Bloggers Carrie Tai and Ailsa Chang, 2018 Intern to the Marianas Min Chen, MVA Country Manager Milane Tsai and one assistant to capture underwater photos of the island. All photos and articles generated on the tour have been valued at $120,000 worth of media exposure and will be used by MVA for marketing and promotional use.
MVA hosts FAM tours for travel agents
The Marianas Visitors Authority hosted seven leading travel agents from Busan, Korea, for a familiarization tour from May 25 to May 29. The tour aimed to give the travel agents firsthand experiences to better promote the Northern Mariana Islands in support of daily flights by Jeju Air from Busan to Saipan.
MVA and Asiana Airlines also hosted a familiarization tour for Japanese travel agents in support of flights between the NMI and Sendai, Japan, between June 24 and June 27.
MVA hosts Instagram travel bloggers
The Marianas Visitors Authority, in cooperation with Brighten Travel and other tourism partners, hosted two Instagram travel bloggers, Eleyse Isebia and Serena Marie Dania, for a familiarization tour on May 15 to May 22. The pair took underwater, land and drone video footage during their visit.
United Airlines announces redesigned website
United Airlines announced the redesign of its united.com homepage on July 12. The site aims to create a more personalized, user-friendly experience for each customer. Key highlights of the new design include content personalized based on the customer’s MileagePlus status, past and scheduled future trips; optimized displays for both desktop and mobile devices; and curated content that allows customers to explore information about different destinations served by United. The full version of the new site was scheduled to go live for all customers in early August.
Founder of Chinese fitness brand holds contest for NMI trip
Wang Xiao, founder of female culture and fitness brand ShapeYourLife and popular Chinese social media personality visited the Northern Mariana Islands on June 19 for a familiarization tour hosted by the Marianas Visitors Authority.
MVA hopes Xiao’s visit will help them appeal to the young female market by way of the ShapeGirl Competition, the winner of which will receive a trip to the NMI.
Singapore Airlines named world’s best by Skytrax
Singapore Airlines was named World’s Best Airline at the Skytrax 2018 World Airline Awards. Qatar Airways was ranked 2nd place and All Nippon Airways ranked 3rd.
The World Airline Awards were created in 1999 by Skytrax after it launched its first worldwide annual airline satisfaction survey.
Former UOG faculty member presents grandfather’s biography to MARC
Arthur A. Jackson Sr. presented a copy of his book, “Biography of Arthur W. Jackson 1880-1961: An American Pioneer in Guam,” to the University of Guam’s Robert F. Taitano Micronesian Area Research Center on June 19.
Jackson, a former faculty member at UOG, spent 30 years researching the book, which is a biography of his grandfather. The copy is available to the community in MARC and can also be purchased print-on-demand.
