The Micronesia Island In The Pacific Stepped Up The Ante Wooing LGBTQI Travelers At The Annual International Gay And Lesbian Travel Association Conference
by Heather Cassell
Guam’s first-ever openly gay high-ranking elected official made the case for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer travelers to visit the United States island territory located in the Western Pacific.
“We are America in Asia,” Guam’s Lieutenant Governor Joshua F. “Josh” Tenorio told members of the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association in New York last month at its annual convention.
The 44-year-old politician made history on the island when he was sworn into office in January.
One of his main goals is to continue spreading the håfa adai spirit to the LGBTQI community and travelers.
Håfa adai spirit of Guam’s people is that of hospitality, warmth and love that resides in the heart of the people translated from the island people’s native language Chamorro, according to Hagan Guåhan.
He’s proud of the progress Guam has made to protect its LGBTQI community within recent years and touted it at the convention.
Guam’s Lieutenant Governor Joshua F. “Josh” Tenorio speaks at the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association Convention held in New York City, New York, in April 2019. (Photo: Courtesy of Josh Tenorio)
“I was able to talk about how our local government enacted anti-discrimination protections that even surpass the federal protections,” reported The Post Guam.
“One of the messages I want to put out because of (Pride Month) is to let parents and grandparents and relatives know that their kids can achieve,” he told the audience about the importance of his position. “They don’t have to be discriminated on and they should back them. I hope that if they can see what I am doing that they can be proud of their kids and stand with them.”
Josh urged other Guam LGBTQI community members to come out.
“Come out and take pride in the fact that you are living today as a gay, lesbian or trans person,” he said. “By doing that, you are going to show people struggling with their sexuality, some of them maybe struggling with suicide, that it’s going to be OK and embrace life and be a part of it.”
Josh will return to New York for New York Pride celebrating Stonewall 50 to speak on a panel at the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising at the end of June.
Going Pink
Guam began its journey to attract LGBTQI travelers, specifically for same-sex destination weddings, when officials at the Guam Visitors Bureau tapped award-winning veteran gay travel and same-sex wedding expert Andrew Collins to assist them with reaching queer travelers in 2017.
That same year, the bureau joined the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association and attended its first conference.
The United States territory’s Speaker of the 34th Guam Legislature Benjamin Cruz was a panelist in the “Selling Mainstream Travel to LGBTQ Travelers” education breakout session at the conference, reported eTurbo News.
The island paradise in the Pacific Ocean has a well-established wedding market for Japanese tourists and is hoping to repeat its success with same-sex wedding destinations, reported the Pacific News Center.
Guam was the first U.S. territory to legalize same-sex marriage in June 2015 weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court granted marriage equality throughout the nation that same year.
It has since become a popular same-sex wedding destination for couples from Asia who can’t marry in their own countries, according to the bureau’s dedicated LGBTQI travel page on its website.
Guam Pridegoers (l to r) Whitney Hoot, Airean Lopez, Cristina Tabet and Caitlin Marie at The Global Ultra Lounge in Tumon, Guam. (Photo: Courtesy of Guam Pride)
Two years later, the island launched Guam Pride, which will be held on June 8 this year.
The celebration and festival launched by Lasia Casil, a 40-something native transgender woman, with a celebration on the beach in 2016. Modeling celebrations she attended in Tokyo, New York, and London, the festival now features performers and notable personalities from across Asia, live music, carnival rides, and food trucks, reported National Geographic.
“The most heartwarming thing is when the young people come up to me and thank me for creating a space where they can feel safe, accepted and are able to just be themselves,” she told the magazine.
Andrew produced the bureau’s “Guam LGBT Travel – 7 Day Paradise Guide,” which was unveiled at the IGLTA Conference in Toronto that same year.
At the same time, IGLTA honored Andrew with an award for his nearly three-decade-long travel writing career.
“As a growing and very important travel segment, we want to make vital connections with the LGBT travel community to initiate the generation of travel packages that will drive this niche market into Guam. We see great potential as we look to further diversify our source markets,” Pilar Laguaña, GVB’s director of global marketing, told eTurbo News in 2017.
Enticing Guam
One of the most welcoming U.S. territories despite being largely Catholic, Guam has made significant steps protecting LGBTQI rights – often getting ahead of Washington and many states on the mainland – within the last four years.
The southernmost island of the Marianas and is the largest island in Micronesia, Guam rests on the edge of the Pacific Rim.
Historically, it has been an important U.S. military base in the Western Pacific, but the island is more than just a military outpost with a rich wartime history during World War II.
Travelers might not feel like they are in the United States when they are at the gate of Asia basking on the soft white sand beaches in Guam.
Two mango juices at Lover’s Point in Guam. (Photo: Courtesy of Shimsnag’s)
Guam boasts about its natural beauty with its rich tropical forests punctuated by pink, coral, and white flowers and exotic white sand beaches along with its unique position marrying Asian and Western culture and luxury comfort.
The island offers travelers everything from luxurious relaxation and shopping to culture and history to outdoor adventures and water sports.
“Guam is such an accepting and welcoming place and all of the hotels here are enthusiastic about LGBT couples coming and marrying too,” said Andrew.
Book your next beach vacation to Guam with Girls That Roam Travel. Contact Heather Cassell at Girls That Roam Travel at 415-517-7239 or at .
To contract an original article, purchase reprints or become a media partner, contact .
