With the one hand we are dealing with economic realities, with the other we are looking for ways to celebrate our successes and hopefully ease the pressure.
Our event calendar now stretches well into 2026. Can you believe it?
A bunch of savvy businesses and organizations have not only picked a date and a venue — they are firmly on our event calendar for participation and coverage.
I know word is getting around, but at the beginning of next year, we are once again hosting the Guam Business Magazine Executive of the Year Gala at the Hyatt on Saturday, Jan. 24. Mark your calendars. Nominations close Nov. 7 and you can find the fillable form on the Guam Business Magazine site.
Of course, I am happy to see any upturn in our visitor arrivals in Guam. But I’m even happier that the Guam Visitors Bureau is promoting events in April 2026 — the Ko'ko' Races on April 11 and 12.
A visiting marketing expert from Japan — who has excellent credentials and clients —told me that in Japan, which is the travel market we are encouraging to return, travelers like to plan travel around an event — and also like to plan travel well in advance.
(If you are visiting Guam and also have wisdom to share, I am all ears. Get in touch.)
In return, I was able to share with the marketing expert the news of the new United Airlines Haneda-Guam flight — which was launched at the time we met, and of interest to her.
I have taken it, and it also offered excellent onward connections to Europe, which my husband and I took full advantage of. (That was in 2024, the year when the airlines were able to coordinate checking our luggage straight through to London from Haneda. I look forward to the time when they say they can do that again.)
Our editorial further into the paper shares what we believe is the way forward for Guam’s new hospital.
I also suggest here in this column we make full use of the Northern Region Community Health Center and the Southern Region Community Health Center in Guam. Their role during COVID was admirable.
There are surely some entrepreneurial doctors who are willing to serve the community by holding clinics in their specialties at the health centers. It just takes a conversation, and decentralization of health services is a trend.
In October 2021, the U.S. National Institute of Health published a paper on decentralization, with data on governance and expenditure. “Under moderate decentralization, public spending on health care is lower, while life expectancy is higher, compared with more centralized systems,” the paper found. “However, in highly centralized systems, public spending is higher and life expectancy is lower.”
The Northern Mariana Islands have no choice but to decentralize, because each of their health centers are on islands separated by water.
Here in Guam, I hope that our Department of Public Health would welcome the conversation. Guam has a small land mass, but everything is relative. For potential patients, who wouldn’t show up at a clinic in their neighborhood without having to drive halfway round the island? mbj
— Maureen N. Maratita is the publisher at Glimpses Media. Glimpses Media includes the Marianas Business Journal, Guam Business Magazine, The Guam Guide, Wave 105.1 FM, Power98 and Route99.
