Mayors talk support for villages as Guam looks to tourism recovery | News

With Guam’s tourism recovery still lagging, the conversation at the Guam Mayor’s Council Thursday turned to how supporting village maintenance, or lack thereof, impacts the visitor experience.

Discussions ranged from historic sites and selfie-promoting village signs to uncut grass, trash, crime and homelessness.

A report from tourism industry insiders released in October flagged a “tourism crisis,” with visitor numbers still at less than half of what they were before the pandemic.

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero made a rare visit to the Guam Visitors Bureau late last month and asked for a plan to address tourism’s slow recovery. CFP and the Guam Economic Development Authority have since exchanged tense letters about the state of the island’s economy.

“The villages are being sucked into that mess,” MCOG president and Piti mayor Jesse Alig told his fellow mayors.

Alig said the municipality had to ask itself how the villages could help boost the “failing” tourism industry, given the money GEDA and GVB had put into improving municipalities.

MCOG vice president and Sinajana Mayor Robert Hofmann noted that in recent years, GVB has pumped more money into “destination management,” caring for parks and beaches, mowing grass and putting up village signs.

That kind of work wasn’t done for years, Hofmann said.

Members of the business community now wanted government funding for airline incentives and other programs, but Hofmann said the mayor’s council needed to ensure tourist attractions in the village were “not forgotten.”

“You have historical sites, you have cultural sites, you have value that people go to and want to be a part of,” Hofmann told the mayors.

Mayors had to sort these out and advocate for their continued support.

Alig added that mayors need to think ‘out of the box’ about how GVB, GEDA and mayors can generate value for both tourists and the villages.

Village improvements had to “trickle down” into the economy, he added.

Organizing more sports competitions to attract visitors is a possibility, but Alig also pointed to problems with waste and unmown shrubs along the main road.

“When you talk about the bigger picture, that’s part of the bigger picture,” Alig said.

Hofmann added that if GEDA wanted to borrow a hotel tax bond to support the visitor industry, “how much of that HOT bond can go to the communities?”

Improving the experience at Mount Lamlam in the south, or repairing the old Spanish bridge were two examples.

Hågat Vice Mayor Christopher Fejeran said southern villages have attractions for visitors but cannot maintain them on their own.

“I think many of our locations in the south need to be renovated. And with our budget we cannot do that ourselves,” Fejeran said.

GVB and GEDA should come and see what kind of work needs to be done, he added.

Humåtak Mayor Johnny Quinata said his village is home to a number of parks popular with military personnel and tourists where people now dump waste, including Sella Bay.

“We pick up university desks and freezers, people dump them on our park lots,” Quintata said.

They must also prevent vegetation from growing over sites without funding.

Tamuning-Tumon-Harmon Mayor Louise Rivera pointed out the problem with stray dogs all over the village, which is now a major problem.

During a recent grand opening event, Rivera noticed stray animals in the parking lot following attendees.

Dogs are one of many issues affecting visitors, she added.

“The homeless, the criminal activity that’s going on, the murder we just had. You know, there’s all these different things that need to be corrected,” Rivera said.

Hofmann said he would send a form to mayors to gather their input on the issue and formulate talking points as discussions on tourism progress.

“These are issues that cannot be resolved overnight,” he said.

Mayors had to balance the desire for more visitors with the desire to preserve Guam’s history and keep it friendly to residents, Hofmann noted.

“I don’t think the industry should come in and say, I want Sella Bay to have 200 parking spaces,” he said.