The Guam Visitors Bureau (GVB) shall develop and publish a Request for Information (RFI) for the purpose of soliciting and determining public interest and the desired direction that public policymakers may take relative to the development, management and operation of a cruise ship industry on Guam.

(a) (1) The information to be solicited shall include, at a minimum, but shall not be limited to:

(A) what is needed for Guam to develop, manage, and operate a cruise ship industry homeported at the Jose D. Leon Guerrero Port of Guam;

(B) what is needed for local cruise tourism support, including communications infrastructure, ground travel, cultural experiences, sports and nature experiences, site visits, entertainment, retail facilities, dining facilities, comfort facilities, and any other experience support needed for cruise passengers that dock on Guam;

(C) what is needed to engage a public/private collaboration in the renovations needed at the Jose D. Leon Guerrero Port of Guam in an area suitable for a cruise ship industry;

(D) what is needed to develop communication, collaboration, and organization between island governments, educational and cultural institutions, and private business and non-profit entities throughout Micronesia to collaborate on a Micronesia-wide cruise ship enterprise;

(E) information relative to needed funding and available funding from any resource, government and private, for the development of a cruise ship industry, and any of the related experiences passengers would have on Guam and throughout Micronesia;

(F) what is needed for success-monitoring of a
Micronesia-wide cruise industry as it pertains to Guam;

(G) what is needed for training, marketing, safety and security, enhanced transportation, and tourism asset development within Guam to include a cruise ship industry within the current visitor industry; and

(H) what is needed to solicit interest from cruise ship lines with appropriate vessels for visiting throughout Micronesia to offer their services on a Micronesia cruise adventure.

(2) The publication of the RFI shall expressly state that it is being issued solely for the purpose of soliciting public information for planning purposes, does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP), and does not commit the government to contract for any supply or service.

(3) Respondents shall be advised that the government of Guam and/or GVB will not pay for any information received or administrative costs incurred in responding to this RFI.

(A) All costs experienced or associated with responding to this RFI will be incurred solely at the responding party’s expense.

(B) Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, should there be one issued.

(C) All submissions to this RFI shall become the property of the government of Guam, subject to public review, and will not be returned.

(D) Any issues relating to intellectual property and copyright must be clarified by the respondent and
clearly marked.

(b) Delivery Period/Dissemination. GVB shall publicly disseminate the RFI in a manner to solicit the broadest number of qualified interested respondents.

(1) Registries, direct mailings, and other methods, at a minimum, shall be utilized to maximize the potential number of responses to the RFI.

(2) GVB shall adhere to the following schedule:

(A) within sixty (60) days from enactment of this legislation, develop and publish the Request for Information (RFI);

(B) provide for a fifteen (15) day question period, Saturday, Sunday, and government holidays excepted, commencing from the date of publication, for requested clarification(s) on the RFI from interested parties/potential respondents;

(C) provide for a thirty (30) day period, Saturday, Sunday, and government holidays excepted, after the close of the question period for submission to the RFI by respondents;

(D) compilation by GVB of all respondents and analysis ascertaining the strength and weakness of each RFI submission by respondents;

(E) transmittal of the RFI compilation/analysis from GVB to I Maga’låhen Guåhan and I Liheslaturan Guåhan no more than thirty (30) days after the receipt of information to the RFI; and

(F) a GVB board resolution indicating the Bureau’s clear strategic plans and policy recommendations to either move forward or to suspend any further efforts in developing a cruise ship industry on Guam.

2018 NOTE: Subsection designations added/altered pursuant to the authority granted by § 1606.

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