Vasili Mladinov, executive director of Belka Tours Guam, said tourists from previously untouched markets like Russia are definitely interested in coming to Guam.
However, he said, the lengthy visa application process discourages many potential visitors.
“Since Russians are required to apply for visas to come to Guam, they need to visit a U.S. embassy,” said Mladinov. “But to get to the embassy, people have to sometimes travel thousands of miles.”
Mladinov said he hopes the U.S. can eventually implement a visa waiver agreement for Russian visitors, similar to what the CNMI has.
He said many Russians travel to Saipan because of the visa waiver agreement, but added that if Guam also had a visa waiver in place then those visitors would come here since it has more to offer in terms of visitor attractions.
Cruz sent a letter to the congresswoman earlier this week urging her to push for laxer visa rules.
According to Cruz, the diversification of the island’s tourism industry is vital to the survival of Guam’s economy.
Cruz said the military buildup activities will cause a decline in the visitor industry market.
The only way to remedy this impact, he said, is to try and market Guam in other regions.
Guam Visitor’s Bureau general manager Gerry Perez agrees with Cruz, adding that the industry can’t always rely on Japanese visitors.
“We need to develop other markets to help stabilize visitor arrivals when Japan goes through fluctuations,” said Perez, explaining that various economic factors might prevent Japanese tourists from visiting Guam at certain points in the year.
Although Japan remains the island’s most important market because of its proximity to Guam, Perez said GVB is still pursuing other smaller markets like Russia, Taiwan and the Philippines.
“These markets may be small, but they will add up to something big,” said Perez.
Small markets, he added, made up nearly 11 percent of all tourist arrivals last fiscal year.
