Guam
Guam Tourism On Ropes
Image And Infrastructure Need Repair
Supertyphoon Pongsona dealt Guam’s already ailing tourism industry a dramatic blow. During the storm’s seven-hour assault, hotel guests were evacuated from their rooms as buildings along Guam’s Tumon hotel district were severely damaged by winds in excess of 240 km (149 miles) per hour. Due primarily to the efforts and precautions of hotel workers, no one was seriously injured as windows and glass doors were reduced to shards.
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In the storm’s aftermath, plywood-dotted hotel exteriors covered what had been ocean view windows and balcony doors. Of Guam’s 8,600 hotel rooms, 3,300 were closed according to a December report from the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association. Particularly hard hit were the 490-room Hotel Nikko Guam which closed all of its rooms due to damage; the Outrigger Guam Resort and the Pacific Islands Club each closed more than 300 rooms. The Guam Marriott, the Guam Hotel Okura and the Guam Reef Hotel all reported that they were not accepting reservations until early 2003.
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Some restaurants were completely destroyed, while others were relatively unscathed. Many were able to resume service within a week of the storm though few with a complete menu.
Under normal conditions, daily Guam visitor arrivals average 2,600 to 2,800, says James Nelson, Guam Visitors Bureau general manager. Immediately following the storm that number dropped to about 400 until Dec. 21. From Dec. 21 to Dec. 25 the number had increased to about 690 daily.
The lack of commerce during the end-of-the-year holiday season—resulting from the drop in visitors as well as the inability of many shops to open—was particularly hurtful. Monte Mesa, general manager of Guam Premier Outlets, estimated that tourists account for 40 percent of the sales in his mall. Guam government revenues were already precarious before they typhoon and tax revenues for December dipped dangerously. “There will be a lot of federal money being spent but the taxes will be way below what we would have been making,” says Clifford Guzman, the government’s Director of Administration. “Plus, our costs just went up with the FEMA reimbursement.”
In order to facilitate the recovery of Guam’s biggest economic sector, the restoration of power and water in the Tumon area was made a priority. Despite steady progress, three weeks later large sections of the area were still awaiting the completion of power line repairs.
In addition to the damage, industry officials are taking steps to counter negative publicity generated by the storm in Japan, where about 80 percent of Guam’s tourists originate. When air service was restored, Japanese visitors who had been on Guam during the storm were met by Japanese media representatives at the airports to purchase videos and photos of the storm. The widely-seen images counteracted efforts by Guam officials to encourage travel, especially during the normally busy holiday period.
To inform travelers that Guam remains a vibrant destination, on Dec. 22, David Tydingco, executive director of the Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association appeared on the Tokyo Broadcasting Service television show Sunday Morning with videos of a tranquil post-storm Guam. A Guam Visitors Bureau delegation, headed by Gov. Felix Camacho, is visiting Japan to meet travel industry representatives and kick off an advertising campaign.
“Our message is ‘We’re back in business,’” says GVB Japan Marketing Committee Chairman Gerald Perez.
In the immediate aftermath of the storm, tourists planning Guam vacations were diverted to nearby Saipan, which has also been in the economic doldrums for the past several years. “They’re the beneficiaries,” said Bruce Kloppenburg, vice president of the Japan Guam Travel Association. “The hotel occupancy rate there is 110 percent.” On Dec. 27, Continental Micronesia reinstated its Saipan - Narita direct flights—a move that had been scheduled for April 2003.
“Historically, it takes about three months for Guam’s visitor industry to recover after a major typhoon,” said Kloppenburg. “So, by April we should be back to where we would have been.”
