By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

THERE is a need to retool Guam’s visitor industry and promote more cultural tourism to make the island a more unique destination.
This was the message delivered yesterday by Peter Apo, chairman of the Pacific Islanders in Communications and director of culture and education for the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association, during a presentation at the Outrigger Resort.
Apo, who was brought over by the Tourism Education Council, told various Guam tourism officials and executives that more efforts should be initiated to focus the tourism experience on local culture so that Guam can compete more effectively with other destinations.
“There are a lot of sand and surf destinations out there. Guam must become a unique destination to compete with these places,” he said.
He added that tourists do not travel overseas to experience something that they can find back home.
“Tourists want to experience something different which is why Guam should have a sense of place, the same way that other destinations have. When you’re in Italy, for example, there’s no mistaking that you’re in Italy because it has such a strong identity and sense of place,” Apo explained.
One remedial measure to foster a sense of place on Guam is more use of the local language, Apo said.
Another is to foster the “mythology” present in the Chamorro culture, as well as the promotion of aspects unique to Guam such as native flora and fauna, legends, historic sites, cultural arts, and artifacts.
“You should also tap local artists and encourage them to create artwork that would promote local culture. If hotels can spend thousands of dollars on interior decoration work, they certainly can afford to promote local art,” Apo advised.
He stressed that promoting the native culture should not be an afterthought and that culture should consistently be expressed throughout the visitor experience.
“Culture should not be treated just as a curiosity. Remember, cultural tourism is our window to the world,” Apo said.
Promoting culture would also result in a big return on investment for the island’s various tourism-related businesses since exit surveys have shown that tourists who experience a one of a kind visitor experience tend to return to those destinations where they had the most memorable and unique experiences.
To retool Guam’s tourism industry, Apo said it is imperative that the whole workforce of the industry be trained and transformed into a unified workforce with one vision.
“We must all be in the same page and we must empower the workforce to make them proud of a tourism product that honors their culture and heritage,” Apo concluded.