“The people of Guam too have to come out with a much better understanding of the importance of tourism to our island. No more lip service. We cannot keep speaking of island pride and support for tourism when our roads and beaches remain littered and vandalism [is] still present. We can’t keep screwing around debating if cannabis should be allowed in hotel zones or not. No surveys needed. Our suppliers of tourists have made it very clear it will negatively affect arrivals. I want to thank our industry leaders and organizations for making this point clear and I trust our good senators, who will have the final say, will realize the dangerous tradeoff if sales, consumption and adverting of cannabis is allowed in our tourist areas.”
— Peter P. “Sonny” Ada, president of Ada’s Trust and Investment Inc. and chairman of the Guam Visitors Bureau.
“We have about 3,000 military that are staying in Guam and living in hotels; 16 hotels are approved to offer accommodation. … We have some short-term guests from federal contractors and the like.”
— Mary P. Rhodes, president of the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association. Both Ada and Rhodes were talking at the GVB virtual membership meeting on Dec. 29.
