![\"Fred](\"http:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/MTEC-speaker-pix.jpg\")
<\/a>His shared the importance of \u201cstarting at a young age to learn about how tourism affects everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in the business of creating happiness,\u201d he told students, explaining the importance of celebrating a destination\u2019s uniqueness with \u201cbranding\u201d and the direct and indirect ways people can enhance the \u201cexperience economy\u201d of the islands.<\/p>\n
Tourism is for young kids and older adults, he told Saipan Tribune in an interview. \u201cWhatever decisions are made in tourism, these are going to last for more than one generation, so everyone is needed to be involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
He shared with students a story of his trek along the length of Japan\u2014from its southern tip to northern\u2014when he was much younger and before he joined the tourism industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things that I learned was the \u2018software\u2019 part [of tourism.] It\u2019s the people that really make your trip memorable. I met some really nice people on the way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was running the length of the Japan\u2026 I looked like a bum. I was wearing shorts and I had a backpack and people gave me dirty looks. What are you doing on the road? One day [television network] NHK interviewed me. The next day, I was wearing the same things and doing the same things and all of a sudden people were smiling and waving.\u201d<\/p>\n
He realized then that \u201ceveryone has a story.\u201d<\/p>\n
Travel makes you learn about yourself and people, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been to places where they have fancy architecture and great history but the software wasn\u2019t there. And I\u2019ve been to places where there is nothing, but the people make the place an excellent place to visit.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also emphasized branding to the students, saying that \u201cnobody can copy your culture and history.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2008, Guam began to promote their local culture, he said. According to him, that same year is when search hits for Guam started trending more.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found out the key words related to Chamorro culture were \u2018food\u2019 and \u2018Chamorro village\u2019 and \u2018Chamorro restaurant.\u2019\u2026Now there\u2019s a real strong interest in eating Chamorro food. I\u2019m involved in a project called \u2018One Village, One Product\u2019 so that people in the village can make something and sell, so people can be directly involved in the tourism industry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ideally, a Chamorro restaurant would say that they are using \u201csalt from Inarajan,\u201d for example.<\/p>\n
None of the hotels in Guam have Chamorro restaurants, he said, so these are \u201cgreat opportunities\u201d for Guam as well as Saipan to share culture and enhance tourism.<\/p>\n
Schumann has been active as a business executive in the Asia-Pacific region for over 30 years, working with various multinational retail and hospitality firms. His primary research has been in the field of international tourism and trends in consumer spending. He has extensive experience in luxury and specialty retail, with groups such as DFS Guam and The Athlete\u2019s Foot Group, Inc. At TAF, he was responsible for 196 retail stores in 17 countries\/territories as franchise director for the Asia-Pacific region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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