Hafa Aadi! The Guam Office of Tourism's new event began with determination, enthusiasm and energy as we channeled the growing resources of the local tourism industry into developing the destination, showcasing the island's restored, updated and improved attractions.
This has been the process of launching resorts, parks and tourism businesses in Guam. But at this stage of the islands' recovery from the pandemic and hurricane, there's still plenty of room to fill additional airline seats, overnight stays and tourist attractions.
Although GVB's recently approved marketing budget is 30% lower than its pre-Covid-19 budget, the Guam destination goal remains ambitious. Taking into account all primary and secondary markets, the Office aims to reach one million refugees between the beginning of October and the end of September 2024.
Here I will share with you how we entered our three most important export markets: South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
South Korea
As we continue to build momentum in the rapidly recovering key market of Guam, GVB's FY24 plan for Korea is to maintain a strong visibility and presence in the market, strengthening consumer confidence in our ability to provide valuable visitor experiences.
We will continue to raise consumer awareness of Guam as a popular tourism destination by partnering in the tourism trade, media, social media and digital platform development.
Following the post-pandemic tourism boom, we continue to support our airlines by demonstrating our continued commitment to travel to Guam as they work diligently to restore capacity in Incheon and Busan.
GVB plans to help organize sales competitions and city seminars for travel agents, as well as online sales promotion, with agents using various media tools.
GVB is committed to positioning Guam as a dynamic destination and actively targeting a variety of sports-related special interest groups. With each market segment offering a variety of activities such as golf, diving and cycling to name a few, it is important to continue working with stakeholders to create a variety of sports packages and incentives.
Along with these efforts, we plan to bring together sports and outdoor industry professionals for special field trips and facility inspections to assess the condition of the island's recreational facilities and identify areas for improvement to make Guam's sports market more attractive.
GVB has conducted several surveys of the Korean market, collected valuable data on visitors to the island, and plans to address these issues and make recommendations in the coming year.
To promote ecotourism in Guam, GVB plans to continue promoting the island's beauty and hiking. We are committed to providing more tropical landscapes and culturally authentic experiences while developing a rich nature-based ecotourism experience for our visitors. In doing so, we hope to increase property values at Destination Guam by working with government and private property owners to revitalize and enhance the overall appearance of the island.
Japan
While I have detailed GVB's recent aggressive marketing efforts in Japan in media reports and in this article, suffice it to say that the office is primarily focused on outsourcing in this market.
Based on conservative occupancy rates, we are targeting 350,000 people by year 24. Optimistically, we expect 490,000 passengers with an aircraft load factor of 80-90%.
Japan's main strategy is as follows.
- Increase sales faster: attract independent travelers (FIT Market) with digital marketing.
- Fostering high brain awareness. Create an easy sales environment by presenting valuable offers that are hard to resist. We show travelers how they can have fun, further weakening the weak yen against the strong dollar.
- Potential sales support. Plan quarterly revenue by developing promotions together with travel agencies.
- Group / MICE - There are many benefits to boosting Guam's meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) market. And we plan to restore the island's resorts and attractions using our high American business standards and proximity to Japan.
- Aviation - GVB continues to work tirelessly to restore passenger traffic to Guam in Japan by promoting the development of routes between airlines serving the island and carriers seeking to enter our market.
Taiwan
Thanks to its proximity, affluent traveler population, extensive trade connections and the cultural connection of Guam's indigenous people, Taiwan remains a viable option for tourism growth on the island.
Taiwan's outbound tourism business has traditionally been among Guam's top three tourism markets as it slowly recovers from the Covid lockdown. Of course, GVB continues to win the hearts of Taiwanese tourists, who historically spend the most money among Guam's three largest tourist markets.
As we face obstacles to resuming direct flights due to the epidemic, we have taken measures to maintain charter flights during Chinese New Year. These efforts have resulted in additional cards during the summer months of FY23, with additional cards planned for December of this year.
Meanwhile, GVB continues its efforts to convince Taiwan's top government and tourism leaders to expect direct service to resume in early 2024. Destination Guam has the ability to accommodate pilots who wish to fly. Safe holidays abroad.
As the board continues to promote Taiwan's Guam destination, it's clear from surveys and social media campaigns that demand for travel to Guam is strong and enthusiastic. But Guam's relationship with Taiwan goes beyond tourism, and we look forward to a new wave of economic diversification and regular return travel through business investments, agricultural and educational exchanges, medical visits, and cultural exchanges between Guam and Taiwan.
America's position on Guam is even stronger given Taiwan's close and enduring relationship with the United States, as well as hopes for cross-cultural reform due to Guam and Taiwan's indigenous roots.
Destination development
The main responsibility for the development of the destination is to collaborate with public and private organizations that have an impact on the social, economic and environmental aspects of tourism. The primary objective of this CFP segment is to provide visitors with the exceptional experience promised in their travel marketing messages.
And the goal is to showcase Guam's unique Chamorro heritage, host world-class events, and ensure good management of infrastructure, parks, and public spaces that enhance the visitor experience and promote safety. Safety of visitors and residents.
While capital improvements are necessary to revitalize our tourism product, the Bureau recognizes the importance of consistent and efficient service to maintain a reliable and positive image in the hearts and minds of travelers.
GVB remains uncertain about tourism infrastructure, safety and tourist satisfaction, particularly along Guam's main tourism corridor, Pal San Vitores Road. With the pandemic behind us, the Office will continue to actively support sports and cultural events designed to attract and add value to all visitors. Most importantly, this activity benefits our local community by providing opportunities for residents and small businesses to participate as sponsors, vendors and sponsors.
Basically, GVB is a destination management organization based on sustainable production. A nice way of saying that is that we don't need to milk the hungry cash cow at Destination Guam by being wary of the tourist market, air travel, or a particular attraction on the island.
We need to spread the love so that everyone can participate in enhancing the beauty and vitality of the island we call home and preserving and promoting the biodiversity of the CHamoru coast.
At GVB we always ask ourselves how the visitor sector can improve the lives of the people who live here, and therefore how to solve problems that will improve the quality of life of local residents. After all, what's good for the goose that lays the golden egg must be good for the gander!
