11/02/12, 00:20:12 EST

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Guam's tourism visionaries should be commended as industry turns 40

guampdn.com

This island is going to celebrate the 40th anniversary of tourism in May, which should be a very big deal, since so many folks on Guam are involved in the visitor industry in one way or another. It should be a time of special editions of the newspaper and island magazines.

Stand back for a moment and gaze out at the big picture. I'm telling you to ignore the smog and dust of Asia, and the dismal financial picture of GovGuam. Sure, they can threaten to turn off the water at our only hospital. They can cut power from our schools for late payment. They can even scare teachers with payless paydays. But we're a hardy breed in Guam. We've suffered from invasion and typhoons of a violent nature. We can bounce back and emerge stronger than ever. It's all in perspective. Take tourism as an example. Few people, and that included me, thought that Guam would make much of a splash as a tourist destination 40 years ago. In those dark days, too many people, including the military fighting the Vietnam war, thought of Guam as "The Rock." Actually, the island hasn't changed that much, only the perception has changed. And, perhaps, like they used to do in Russia, give out "HERO" awards to those people who made tourism work in Guam. That would include a lot of people. Some of them have passed on and are promoting tourism up in heaven. Some of Guam's pioneers in the industry would have to be former Gov. Manuel F.L. Guerrero, who saw the lifting of the security clearance in the early 1960s as the time to initiate the tourism program on Guam. He went on to hire Rex Wills, of Hawaii, as the first tourism director. Rex had the experience and the foresight to hire a Hawaiian photographer to come to Guam to begin the process of finding beautiful spots to shoot. He and some printers developed the first Guam brochure. It was only a few years later that a local tourism guy by the name of Bert Unpingco came on the scene. Bert was doing tourism work in Alabama and it didn't take much urging for him to come home. Along the way, other stars were developing. People like Earl Kloppenburg had the vision. He started an airline catering service, along with a motel and a couple of restaurants. He also began Turtle Tours, which is a big operator today in getting our visitors around. There were plenty of other visionaries, including Ken Jones, who helped begin the Guam Hilton and opened the first real hotel in Saipan, the Royal Taga. His brother Robert also helped with a variety of restaurants. You could probably name 10 or 20 to this list of tourism heroes yourself. These people and others did their job. They had plenty of help from the fluctuation of the Japanese yen and the seemingly sudden desire of the Japanese people to see the world. Japan has created a modern middle class, people who like to travel. Today, tourism is the largest single sector in Guam's economy. Along with the military, tourism drives Guam's economy. Tourism generated, in 2006, about $1.35 billion to the economy. Tourism accounts for approximately 20,000 jobs in Guam -- 35 percent of the island's total employment. Guam Visitors' Bureau chairman David Tydingco notes that "the community's multi-faceted involvement and effort is critical to the effort and a critical piece of the plan." He was talking about the next five-year plan for GVB. This last year saw a near record total number of visitors -- 1,183,943. That is an amazing number of people to visit a small Pacific island and puts Guam ahead of most islands in numbers, excluding, of course, Hawaii. The thing I like most about tourism as an industry is that it has furthered interest in local culture. Visitors want to see island dances, music and art. It could create an entire subculture, as it did in Hawaii. Too, farmers should profit because tourists want to taste local foods. It has benefited the local population because we have more shopping malls to choose from and lots more restaurants to select meals from. Too, the visitor industry helps, in a big way, our airport and port. GovGuam gained in hotel room taxes, taking in almost $20 million from that source. Tourism also makes local inhabitants more concerned about beaches and beauty spots, as well as restrooms. Yes siree, we've come a long way from that first Pan American inaugural flight that took off from Japan to Guam nearly 40 years ago. Pan Am deserves a special award for its important help in getting this industry off the ground. It is, indeed, time for a real celebration.

 Printable Version  | published Mar 05, 2007