We have to give tourists tangible reasons to visit and to come back

By Maria Lydda Gabriel

I think much of the tourism issue and how we have difficulties in bringing the numbers up, is also due to the fact that there really isn’t much to do here in Guam.

Yes we have beautiful beaches, but after that, what’s next? When restaurants close at 9 p.m., some 10 p.m., what is there to do for the tourists? The hotels they stay in don’t even offer any activities or attractions for them to enjoy. We have one tiny waterpark, three malls that almost sells the same things, and then some nature adventures that the south has to offer. But other than that, in a tourist’s mind, why would I want to go to Guam? What do I look forward to when I get there? What does Guam have that I cannot find in some other country?

We have to offer them something more for them to want to come back. But instead they come to Guam to pay for overpriced items and services and commodities without getting the “I want to come back” experience.

The people in charge of tourism need to figure out more ideas as far as what attractions they can offer to our tourists. As an example, I got excited to learn that the train at the mall is not confined to a small circle any longer and that it now goes around the mall; but found out that though the train goes around the mall now, they didn’t set up the hallways to show attractions to the kids as the train goes by. If this were the case, this could have been a small attraction for the tourists to bring their children to, and generate some additional income. Might not be much, but it’s something.

Bring back the old carnivals with rides so that they are not stuck to eating at restaurants in the morning and food trucks at night throughout the entire stay. The hotels that they stay in should offer more attractions and night time activities for them. Because sadly, try finding a view at night that overlooks the Tumon area, and it just looks sad and dead when there could be so much potential for these hotels to bring some night life in them. Instead, they pay for overpriced rooms just to sleep in.

When Tumon night life comes to life, just imagine the revenue it can create. That revenue will not only come from the tourists, but from the military community as well and our locals. We can be a funner and better Guam if just stop the corruption and the fattening of our pockets and instead pour it out to the community and tourism. We have to somehow become the island spot that our neighboring countries would want to visit and come back to and not just be a one-stop destination never-to-return-again place.

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Maria Lydda Gabriel is a resident of Dededo, Guam.