by Heather Hauswirth

Guam - What is the Guam Visitors Bureau doing to sustain the island's dominant tourist economy? The ongoing promotion of the "We Are Guam" campaign ties-in with the building of Guam's cultural capacity - it is one of the agency's goals for the year. GVB Deputy Director Ernie Galito helped spearhead a variety of brand programs this year from presenting the mayors council with a $275,000 check to get them involved with coordinating the Village Mural Project, and pinpointing village ambassadors to represent and articulate the uniqueness of each village.

"It reaffirms Guam has its own ownership of tourism," said Galito. "Tourism is just a product we create. This is their affirmation that they support this initiative...it's not easy to do this overnight, it's a long-term process, but at least we are making some headway."

Beautifying the island and identifying what makes Guam's culture unique is key for GVB moving forward in its efforts to reinvigorate the people of Guam with island pride and showcase the culture to tourists.