On July 30th, several Senators from Guam, including Senator Antonio R. Unpingco, Chairman of the Committee on Tourism, Maritime, Military, Veterans and Foreign Affairs of the 29th Guam Legislature, and Senator Joseph M. Mendiola from the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, visited Taiwan in an effort to increase the number of visitors to the Marianas through discussions with Taiwanese government officials and transportation heads.

The delegation of island leaders met with Deputy Director-General W.J. Hsieh from the Taiwanese Tourism Bureau and Ministry of Transportation and Communications. Discussions focused on the pending increase of military personnel on Guam over the next ten years as U.S. Marines are relocated from Okinawa and the positive effects this will have on Guam’s economy and tourism industry. Dialogue also centered on the positive effects for Taiwan, in terms of increased military personnel visiting from Guam. All parties agreed one challenge to be faced is the insufficient number of flights between the Taiwan and the Mariana Islands.

Senator Unpingco and the delegation were joined by key members from Edelman Taiwan, GVB’s regional marketing representative, and paid a special visit to China Airlines. Need for additionalflights from Taiwan to Guam and the Marianas was discussed with Senior Vice President of Marketing Brian Chou and other top executives from China Airlines. While cabotage law may stall immediate solutions for the CNMI, China Airlines was readily agreeable to consider options for increased service Guam. According to Senator Unpingco, talks between the groups were very productive and improvement in the number flights to and from Guam is expected soon.

The value of the senatorial delegation’s visit to Taiwan became most evident with the announcement by China Airlines that they will add two charter flights to Guam during the Moon Festival from September 24 – 25, a four day weekend for Taiwanese travelers. The Moon Festival is similar to the Autumn Festival in China and is celebrating by special gatherings to eat moon cake. The additional flights will be on September 21st and 25th. If the charter flights do well, China Airlines will consider continuing them every five days.

As the chair of the Guam Legislature’s committee on tourism, Senator Unpingco works very closely with the Guam Visitors Bureau to increase awareness of Guam as an ideal destination in Taiwan and other target markets throughout the world. GVB recognizes the success of the Senator’s delegation to Taiwan as proof of his continued commitment to improving tourism on Guam.