There were predictions made by one of the former governors for the numbers to reach 2 million visitors annually by the turn of the century.
Unfortunately, we have come nowhere near that, and it doesn’t look like we are headed anywhere near that number with what we now have.
A lot of money was spent a few years ago when a marketing strategy was put together. We were supposed to reach the 1.5 million arrival number this year and it doesn’t look like that is going to happen either. What are we doing and where do we think we are going? Time is passing us by while the rest of the world is carefully developing their tourist plants and the world is travelling.
I am very skeptical about the Guam Visitors Bureau’s ability to be able to bring in the numbers necessary to make a larger difference in arrivals.
Some of the GVB players are the same people who have been there for years. GVB needs a large-scale overhaul and a lot of new blood and new ideas and attitudes. The thing is, a great idea may come around and the reason we won’t be able to pursue the strategy is because there is no money, an excuse used by management far too often. I think Guam is a great product and has been for a long time.
What we don’t have are people excited about having visitors come to our island and spend more money than those we have had in the past.
I think the administration may be on to something with the attempt of seeking Chinese visitors with visa waivers, but this is something that happened and was pursued more than a decade ago by myself and a friend. If we continue to spend the amounts of money we have been and not even get an increase in visitor arrivals, I think we need to bring in someone who can bring the numbers up.
FELIX AGUON
Quezon City and Guam
for a while longer
