Visitor arrivals continue to drop

by Nick Delgado

Guam - The Hafa Adai Spirit and a clean and safe Guam are a couple initiatives Governor Eddie Calvo and now-former Guam Visitors Bureau general manager Gerry Perez spoke about during today's GVB membership meeting. "It has been a time that is unprecedented and with that the Hafa Adai Spirit came about as well," the governor said.

Calvo gave the keynote address, saying those two simple words make Guam different from other destinations. He says the disaster in Japan has brought challenges for the island's number one industry citing double-digit trip cancellations from other countries. Perez says the numbers continue to track against their favor, noting, "For the month of March through the 23rd, there's a 9% drop from Japan just for the month.

"We are trying to drive business from Korea so we can offset the drop in arrivals from Japan; these are just a couple of examples of what we are doing to promote the message of clean and safe travel to Guam."

Governor Calvo will also issue an executive order in the coming days to empanel the Governor's Council of Economic Advisories. He says the team will in charge of developing a full economic master plan that will bring in other markets and boost tourism in the long run. "Looking at what the short-term economic prospects are and of course looking at what the long-term economic prospects are and its focusing not only on the military buildup or the new industries that may be strong potential for our community after buildup is over but also because of the unique situation circumstances looking at our tourism community industry and seeing how we can the plain field at bringing new markets and niche groups," he said.

Calvo also continues the push for a parole China-Russia Visa Waiver Program that he says hopes to develop a "One Marianas" approach, as well as allow more visitors to come to Guam to help better the current state of the tourist market.