|
(Tumon, Guam) — The Guam Visitors Bureau (GVB) today convened its Quarterly Membership Meeting, providing members with updates on tourism recovery efforts, market performance, air incentive plans, and an insightful presentation on sustainable tourism practices. Membership filled the ballroom at the Dusit Thani Guam Resort underscoring GVB's commitment to revitalizing Guam's tourism industry with purpose and long-term viability.
GVB Board Director Michelle Merfalen welcomed members, guests and Senator Jesse Lujan, Chairman of the Committee on Tourism. Senator Lujan announced that his committee, in collaboration with GVB, the legislative office of Finance and Budget, was able to secure additional funding for airline incentives in the FY 2026 budget bill and called for the community to support this investment.
GVB President & CEO Régine Biscoe Lee opened the meeting with a comprehensive management report, providing updates on recovery efforts, marketing, air service strategy, and emphasizing the bureau’s strategic initiatives for sustainable growth.
Management Report Highlights
Tourism Recovery Initiatives:
GVB highlighted several successful tourism recovery initiatives:
Median Painting Project: A significant effort by the recovery committee, the median painting along San Vitores Road, extending from the Bishop Flores circle to Westin Hill, has greatly enhanced the aesthetic appeal of Tumon. GVB extended gratitude to its maintenance and destination team for their exceptional work.
Tumon Night Market: Now after its third successful week, the Tumon Night Market, another initiative of the recovery committee, aims to offer a dynamic experience each week with new vendors, food, and entertainment. Inspired by the CHamoru Village Wednesday Night Market and GVB’s BBQ Block Party, the Tumon Night Market provides a family-friendly event in the heart of the tourism district, encouraging visitor and local participation and fostering community pride. The Tumon Night Market has significantly increased foot traffic and spending in Tumon, providing an economic boost for over 60 local vendors and small businesses. This free event enhances Guam's destination appeal by offering visitors valuable opportunities to engage with the island's people and products. GVB recognized Recovery Committee Chair Mark Baldyga and the TNM team for their dedication. Interested vendors, sponsors, or entertainers can email tumonnightmarket@visitguam.com for more information.
Arrivals & Trends
GVB's management reported encouraging trends in visitor arrivals:
June 2025 Performance: All major markets, including Korea, Japan, and the Philippines, showed an increase compared to June 2024. Taiwan experienced a significant surge, attributed to the new direct flights with United Airlines.
Calendar Year to Date (January - June 2025): While Korea's performance was not as strong in the first half of the year as the previous year, expectations are high for improvement with the recent introduction of new flights. Japan, the Philippines, and Taiwan all demonstrated increases compared to the same period in 2024.
Fiscal Year to Date (October 2024 - June 2025): The general trend of increases continued across most major markets. GVB noted that these increases, despite current global conditions, are a testament to the resilience of Guam's tourism market and a reassuring sign of sustained demand.
Economic Projections and Airline Incentives
GVB presented economic impact and income stream forecasts, ranging from conservative to optimistic, dependent on Guam's ability to maintain air seat capacity. The current revised forecast falls between conservative and moderate projections, with a goal of 785,000 visitors and October-May figures currently at over 95% of that goal. Korean carriers are responding positively to incentives and the bureau is working hard to maintain and support this growth. GVB has requested legislative support for its $10M airline incentive request as the incremental arrivals could result in an estimated $300M pumped into the local economy.
GVB reported that with much marketing effort and collaboration, air seat capacity has now been increased to over 60,000 seats. In order to achieve Guam’s optimistic goal of just over one million visitors, airline incentives are necessary. A global shortage of aircraft necessitates the offering of airline incentives to remain competitive. Examples of destinations offering airline incentives include Thailand, Hong Kong, Denver, Los Angeles (LAX), and New York (SWF).
GVB stressed the importance of offering airline incentives to maintain current air seat capacity, noting that losing these seats would make it significantly harder to rebuild. Members were encouraged as industry professionals to voice their opinions and concerns to their senators.
The meeting then transitioned to sustainability efforts, with GVB highlighting its own initiatives such as repurposing plastic and eliminating the agency's purchase of plastic water bottles and styrofoam products in favor of more sustainable options.
People, Planet, Profit
GVB has partnered with Guam Green Growth (G3) to promote an innovative and green Guam, leveraging the familiarity of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) among locals and visitors from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines. A brief survey is attached to gather insights on existing sustainability practices and areas of interest for learning within your organization, helping to understand how our community can further embrace sustainable initiatives.
The key highlight of the agenda was a presentation by Jason Lin, Co-Founder & CEO of Hotel Zero, who discussed "REVIVING GUAM TOURISM WITH PURPOSE AND SUSTAINABILITY." Lim, a former media contractor for Guam, shared ideas on how Guam can be an attractive destination for sustainability-seeking social travelers, stating that Sustainability is the new Wi-Fi and will be demanded by customers in the future. Following this, Naomi Oiwa, Japan Market Development Manager for the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), introduced the GSTC framework and presented a compelling case study from JTB Japan, illustrating practical applications of sustainable tourism principles. According to Oiwa, Japanese travelers view sustainability travel as a “must do”. Oiwa cited the need for destinations to market “sustainable tourism,” including Guam.
The Guam Visitors Bureau continues to work diligently with its partners and members to drive sustainable tourism growth and enhance the visitor experience on Guam.
|
Reset to Default