When 1.6 million yearly arrivals before the pandemic were suddenly cut by more than half, the Guam Visitors Bureau had a difficult task ahead: not only bringing old visitors back but also making the island a favorite destination for generations to come. But first, there was the pandemic to deal with. With 60% of the island’s economy suddenly frozen, Guam’s Governor, Lou Leon Guerrero and Lt. Governor, Josh Tenorio, knew they could turn to available federal government programs to help businesses meet payroll and operational expenses.
“Together, they safeguarded everyone in Guam through highly organized vaccination and quarantine procedures as well as prevention protocols, and by prioritizing the needs of our well-regarded defense community,” said Carl TC Gutierrez, former two-term governor of Guam and now president and CEO of GVB. Indeed, collaboration and mutual assistance between the two was the key to getting Guam back on its feet. “As a U.S. territory, America’s defense community counts on Guam to remain a patriotic bulwark in the Western Pacific. In turn, we count on Washington to be there for us when disaster strikes, or the economy shrivels up through no fault of our own.”
In an island where so many institutions and businesses are fueled by the arrival of visitors, the pandemic created a sort of “institutional atrophy” that made recovery difficult. “Understandably, that caused a lot of fear and frustration among visitor industry operators and even panic among folks who suddenly found themselves out of work,” added Gutierrez.
Accordingly, the GVB rolled out an ambitious plan guided by three strategic initiatives. First, it targeted safety in a broad sense, including not only security but also hygiene, food security, and health and safety. “These are the aspects that may go unnoticed by visitors and yet allow you to enjoy your experience without worries,” explained Mr. Gerry Perez, GVB’s vice-president.
A second initiative targeted product improvement, taking care of large-scale issues such as flood mitigation and power generation by investing in the proper infrastructure, such as powered streetlights, anti-skid materials, and paint for sidewalks and streets. With visitors coming from cities with different signage systems for driving or crossing roads, the initiative also includes detailed signs and ease of access to ensure a smooth and safe experience and the improvement of natural sites and places of historical or heritage interest that make Guam unique. “We partnered with businesses to accomplish all this together,” said Perez, “While also fostering internal growth and collaboration among public and private members of the community.”
The third of the initiatives is service culture, the most important one on an island famous for its friendliness and hospitality. “Due to the pandemic, many workers left hospitality to work in construction, which was booming,” said GVB’s vice president, “so we had to come up with creative solutions for making service greater than it ever was.”
They got creative, developing tech solutions for aspects of service that do not require human interaction and involving community colleges and businesses in training top-level professionals in hospitality. To fund the transformations for fine-tuning service on the island and attracting visitors, GVB maximized its optimal debt capacity by emitting bonds, which have helped unlock growth.
For Perez, Guam’s potential as a tourist attraction is also the key to its internal development and the health of its business sector: “About seventy visitors to Guam support one job in tourism, and the way I see it, we are all in this together, because a growing interest in Guam benefits us all.”
Now, through an ambitious marketing campaign targeting a growing middle class in Asia through influencers, GVB is meeting and surpassing expectations. “There is no other place in the region like Guam, so close via air, with a unique history and an American flavor,” said Perez.
“We want to tell the world that we are here and waiting for you,” he concluded. guamvisitorsbureau.com
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