Guam welcomed over 135,000 visitors in March, nearly matching or exceeding arrivals for the same month in 2015, 2016 and 2013. Looked at in another optimistic way, that's the top March number in Guam tourism history.
Governor Eddie Baza Calvo wanted in on these figures: "Much continues to change in our tourism industry. The one constant is our effort to promote the island for our visitors and our community. I want to thank the folks at Guam Visitors Bureau and their tourism partners for adapting to those changes and addressing our need for more airline seats and to improve and expand our tourism market"
According to the release, "The total numbers is an indication that the Guam Visitors Bureau’s multi-faceted efforts to help maintain and improve local sites, promote our island to visitor markets, and work to increase airline seats is helping to sustain tourism activity."
Total seat capacity for Japan was at 68,585 seats for the month. Out of that number, 61,142 seats were filled. This means that for the month of March, all flights from Japan to Guam were nearly 90 percent of the total air lift capacity. The Japan market managed to edge out Korea arrivals to become the top market for March, though it did decrease by 14.3 percent compared with the previous year. Meanwhile, Korea’s visitor arrival showed moderate growth with a 2.2 percent increase over March 2017. Other markets that noted growth and diversification include U.S./ Hawaii by 12.2 percent, the Philippines by 44.6 percent and Europe by 16.9 percent. “Tourism continues to grow and diversify through the sheer hard work of our more than 21,000 men and women who share our Håfa Adai spirit with our visitors,” said Lt. Governor Ray Tenorio. “Let’s keep the support going and celebrate the milestones with our people.” Projections for FY2018 Based on the current trend of arrivals to Guam, GVB’s Research Department updated its overall annual projections for Fiscal Year 2018. With an increase in charters and additional airline frequencies, Guam is projected to welcome about 1.5 million visitors at the end of FY18. This is a 3.7 percent decrease compared to Fiscal Year 2017. “Our team has been working diligently to secure charter flights for our Japan market and encourage existing air carriers to increase their flight service and potential ones to consider flying directly to Guam,” said GVB President and CEO Nathan Denight. “Our efforts have led GVB to update our projections as current trends see us ending FY2018 with a 3.7 percent decrease versus the previously reported 7.8 percent decrease. Guam’s recovery has moved relatively quick and I just want to thank our industry partners for working together with us. Now we just need to increase our airline seats and continue to improve the destination that is Guam.”