By Pacific Island Times News Staff
The tourism sector's post-Covid recovery was on track with the original projection of about 670,00 visitors for fiscal 2023 but typhoon Mawar's landfall has adversely affected May arrivals, prompting the Guam Visitors Bureau to revise its original forecast.
GVB adjusted its projection to reflect a 23 percent reduction in arrivals for the fiscal year, but the bureau anticipates a quick recovery in the months ahead.
“Historical records indicate pre-typhoon monthly arrival levels recovering in six months on average. We are encouraged by the progress being made to the value chain destination experience, which we are supporting with grants through the Tourism Assistance Program currently underway,” said Gerry Perez, GVB's acting president & CEO.
“If past recoveries are any indication of the industry’s resiliency, then GVB is confident in our island’s unified effort to bounce back in the coming months," he added.
“Given the current state of our island along with market conditions, we have adjusted our FY2023 forecasts from 670,000 to around 515,000 for the remainder of the year,” said Nico Fujikawa, director of Tourism Research & Strategic Planning.
As GVB continues its marketing efforts in its source visitor markets, arrival numbers are showing improvement compared to 2022.
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Japan saw arrivals increase by 429 percent compared to the previous year while Korea arrivals increased by 186 percent over the same period last year.
Arrivals from Taiwan are up by 2,332 percent. Although there are no direct flights from Taiwan, charter flights within the market are ongoing through the end of July.
The Philippines has also seen a slight increase of 22 percent compared to last year, while other arrivals demonstrated positive growth including Australia by 73 percent, Europe by 7 percent, and Singapore by 73 percent.
GVB will continue to work with small local businesses and industry partners to ensure they are supported as summer campaigns for tourism ramp up in mid-July.
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