Tourism on the rebound with 25 flights a week expected from South Korea

It’s a sure sign of the island’s tourism economy bouncing back since the COVID pandemic hit, as visitors from both Korea and Japan arrive in planeloads to experience the Hafa Adai Spirit. 

"We’re really excited that travelers are coming back, especially from the Korean market," Guam International Airport Authority Deputy Executive Manager Ricky Hernandez.  "As you can see behind us, we have two of our Korean carriers. Just further down the hall, we do have two of our other Korean carriers that are bringing in and taking away some passengers."

Just for the month of June, the GIAA will be expecting about 25 flights per week, from the Korean market alone. 

Hernandez said compared to one flight per week from Korean carriers last year, that’s a big jump. Hernandez also shared how many flights total the airport is expecting for the whole month.

"In total, we actually are expecting 70 flights per week for the month of June," he said. "That includes all of our airlines and all of our markets and so, that’s what’s really exciting, so it’s an increase of 130% same time last year and we saw an increase of just about 18 and a half percent or so from last month."

And Director of Tourism Research and Strategic Planning for the Guam Visitors Bureau Nico Fujikawa said it’s been a long time coming, especially with the Guam Visitors Bureau working day in and day out to get the island’s tourism economy back in full swing.

"In terms of arrivals, we’re right on track with what GVB originally projected," he said. "At the start of this year, we said we’d hit around 130,000 visitors for the year and as of May, we are about 72,000 close to that number. So we anticipated a strong summer return from the Korean market that we’re already seeing and experiencing."    

With COVID restrictions being lifted in Korea, more and more Korean visitors book their flights to Guam to enjoy the island’s hospitality, peaceful beaches and shopping outlets. 

"The Korean market actually really loves Guam," Fujikawa said.  "Guam has been a top U.S. destination for that market and the people that do come here, you’ll notice they’re more on the family side. They bring their children and there’s a reason for that, Guam is a paradise so close to where they are."

Fujikawa added that Japanese visitors are also starting to trickle in and GVB received news that in August, Japan airlines are looking to make a comeback.