“Another record in our history books is now broken with July 2017 becoming the best July in our tourism history! We have so much to be proud of in Guam’s number one industry. I commend the over 20,000 men and women in tourism, many of who were recently honored at the 2017 HERO awards by the Guam Visitors Bureau and Guam Hotel and Restaurant Association. We’ve made great strides to create more job opportunities and more ways to keep our Chamorro culture and hospitality at the forefront. Let’s keep up this momentum!”

  — Governor Eddie Baza Calvo

 

Nearly 133K visitors chose Guam

Guam welcomed 132,952 visitors in July 2017, an 8.1% increase when compared to the previous year. July 2017 surpassed the top record held in 1997 to become the best July in Guam’s tourism history.

In the days leading up to big events that included the 5th Guam BBQ Block Party and 73rd Liberation Day, daily arrivals showed increases in visitor arrivals.

"I just want to thank our people for continuing to welcome our visitors with the Håfa Adai spirit and show them what we’re all about,” said Lt. Governor Ray Tenorio. “It truly takes all of us to do our part to take care of our island home and make Guam a better place to live, work and visit.”

Guam’s second top visitor market of Korea recorded a 25% increase, while the U.S. mainland increased 14.9% when compared to the same month in the previous year.

“As tourism grows and diversifies, so too do our challenges to meet the strategic goals of our Tourism 2020 plan,” said GVB President and CEO Nathan Denight. “The biggest challenge we are facing at the moment is seating capacity. While our arrival numbers are achieving new records, we must remain focused on delivering the very best Guam product to promote in our markets. That calls for reinvesting into our aging infrastructure, updating our level of hospitality and inviting new airlines to open up more flights to Guam."

Summary of arrivals

The Japan visitor market experienced a decline of 5.2% in visitor arrivals for July. While still remaining Guam’s top market, Japan has been facing a lack of seating capacity because airline carriers, like Delta and Korean Air, pulled out of gateways such as Osaka and Nagoya. Almost 1.4 million seats between Japan and Guam were available in 2012, but this number has since decreased to less than 900 thousand in 2017. The recent announcement of HK Express opening a new connection between Nagoya and Guam at the end of October will help open up more seats to the island.

Total Fiscal Year-to-Date arrivals increased by 5.3%, while total Calendar Year-to-Date arrivals grew by 4.8%.

Korea arrivals increased by 25%, while other visitor markets achieved some growth. Arrivals from Hawaii increased by 30.6%, while the Russia Federation grew by 57%. Markets that also demonstrated growth include the U.S. mainland by 14.9%, Australia by 57%, Europe by 13%, Hong Kong by 12%, and the CNMI by 7.1%.

Media Contact: JOSH TYQUIENGCO - Public Information Officer