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FOR TOURISM INDUSTRY’S RECOVERY
Guam’ Leon Guerrero, Palau’s Whipps underscore the need for collaboration
Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero and Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr., seated second and third from left on the front row, were among the dignitaries at the inauguration for Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe Monday morning. (FERDIE DE LA TORRE)
Guam Gov. Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero and Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. have underscored the need for Guam, Palau, and the CNMI to collaborate for their respective tourism industries to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leon Guerrero and Whipps, who were among the dignitaries at the inauguration ceremony for Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang last Monday morning, both said there are many areas where the CNM, Guam, and Palau could work together to reinvigorate each other’s tourism industry.
In an interview with reporters shortly before the start of the inauguration at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe, Leon Guerrero noted that they used to offer tour packages for tourists from the source markets of Japan, Korea and Taiwan that included both Guam and the CNMI.
She said when Guam is successful with its tourism industry, the CNMI will also be successful.
Leon Guerrero wishes both Palacios and Apatang the best, saying she looks forward to working closely with them to address some of the challenges in this part of the region.
“[We] continue to look at working together as a united Marianas,” said Leon Guerrero, who was re-elected last November, making her the first Democratic governor of Guam elected to a second term in office since Carl Gutierrez in 1998.
In a separate interview with Whipps last Monday, he said there are other areas that Palau and the CNMI can collaborate regionally in terms of tourism, including looking at how they can expand air services.
“COVID hit us all very hard. We’ve got to find ways that we can promote the region better and look at other industries that we can also develop,” he said.
The president said it’s going to be exciting times as Palau and the CNMI try to recover and see how they can work together.
Whipps said there are many Palau citizens in the CNMI and they want to help them be more productive members of the society here.
He congratulated Palacios and Apatang for their inauguration and wished them the best.
