Guam is gaining additional mileage with the GoGo! Guam road show in Fukuoka Japan. In subsequent meetings in Okayama prefecture, GVB President & CEO Carl T.C. Gutierrez, GVB Board Chairman Milton Morinaga, and Guam Airport Executive Manager John M. Quinata were warmly received by Okayama Governor Ryuta Ibaragi, Director of the Prefectural Life Department, Mr. Takashi Ikenaga, and Head of Aviation Planning and Promotion, Mr. Teruaki Mori.
“Our successful meeting with Governor Ibaragi is exactly why we planned this visit, reaching out to Prefectural Governments and strengthening our friendship-city relationships as Japan starts to loosen restrictions for international travel. This pushes Guam to the top of competing destinations with the Japanese market and the enthusiastic reception by Governor Ibaragi was very positive,” GVB President Gutierrez stated.
Governor Ibaragi expressed that Okayama Prefecture, with a catchment area of over 8 million residents has long been linked to Guam. This was reiterated when the delegation met with Okayama City Mayor Masao Omori, following the meeting with Ibaragi. Pre-pandemic Guam and Okayama City had shared a robust friendship-city relationship with both cultural and student exchange programs coming to Guam up until the pandemic, even after direct flights between Okayama and Guam were discontinued in 2015.
Airport Executive Manager John Quinata shared, “Both Governor Ibaragi and Mayor Omori brought to light the inconvenience of Okayama residents having to travel by train for 2 hours, and a one-hour transfer from the train station to Kansai Airport to connect to Guam. The Guam Airport pushed our message – we will do our part in developing direct connections to secondary cities.”
Mayor Masao Omori, personally shared that Guam had been his family’s favorite destination when his children were little and acknowledged having met GVB Chairman Milton Morinaga in past visits. He further stressed the importance of the sister-city relationship and was gracious in his expression to further build upon the bond established in 2010.
GVB President Gutierrez summed up, “By the early evening, Mr. Mori, the Head of the Aviation Planning and Promotion for Okayama prefecture called my Japan team on behalf of Governor Ibaragi, committing both the Okayama Prefectural Government’s and Okayama City’s full support of this cooperative relationship.”
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