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Guam does have hotel chains there,and a tourism area called Tumon Bay.
Annual pre-pandemic visitors to Guam was over 1.5 million visitors primarily from Asia,so the island does have it's Tourism Industry in place. https://www.guamvisitorsbureau.com/
Yes,Guam is far from North America,but the island really isn't that remote,since Asia/Australia is nearby.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ivory Lee Spurlock
As a US territory, I have often wondered why the United States does not promote Guam (and Puerto Rico as well) more than it does. It looks like some of the big luxury hotel chains such as Hilton, Hyatt, Four Seasons, W, etc, would buy properties in Guam and set up shops and turn Guam into a popular tourist destination. As far as distance goes, when you're talking large numbers of miles, 7200 miles to Guam (from Austin) is not all that much further than 3700 miles to Honolulu (from Austin). And it's closer than Sydney, Australia (8400 miles from Austin) and large numbers of people fly back and forth between the United States and Australia every day of the year, so I'm not buying the "Guam is too far" side of argument.
I visited Guam last June when we were still living overseas in Asia.
I do agree that the beaches were nicer than Hawaii. However, the infrastructure wasn't very nice in general. We stayed at the Hyatt on Tumon Beach. It was ok, but nothing special. We were told it was about the nicest hotel on the island. We were there right after the typhoon so some places were still closed down and others had visible damage. Still, I could tell that it was a bit run down even before the typhoon. We went into the K-Mart to get American products and it was really depressing. We drove around the island and there were some gorgeous areas but most of the populated areas were very run down.
All in all, I was glad that I went there for a few days, just to get the feel of the place. However, with the exception of the beaches, I'd say it's no way comparable to Hawaii. Having lived in Asia and traveled to several beach destinations (Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia), I'd prefer any of them to Guam. Much nicer accommodations, more culture and less expensive. I'm glad I saw Guam but I probably won't go back.
I think it would depend on where in Hawaii. I lived on the islands for many years, and once you leave the city proper on all the islands you start to see run down areas. Or I should say, you see areas that APPEAR to be run down. The climate takes its toll on rural areas, and out there no one cares what someone's home looks like. That's city stuff.
Visit Pahoa sometime, you'll probably think you're in another country if not on another planet. Personally, that's what I like about island living. If I wanted to stay at the Hilton I would have gone to New Orleans/New York/San Francisco, where other than the city itself, the hotels are basically all interchangeable. So why even bother traveling?
To get a feel for a place you need to get off the tourist trap merry go 'round. Go to the local diners, hit the small shops, go hear some live music, visit a local art gallery. That's really where the culture is at. When I lived in Hilo on the Big Island, the cruise ships would come into the harbor, and the buses would take people right away over to the other side of the island where all the tourist stuff was. The smart travelers (vs tourists) would get off on our side of the island and go eat in the local restaurants, go to Bears coffeehouse for breakfast, buy things at the outdoor market and otherwise fit right in w/ the locals.
Simply by the sheer didtan e of Guam from mainland USA, just getting there will be expensive. With that price tag and once you get there, the place is rundown? Horrible.
At least in Hawaii you have the nature to balance out whatever shortcomings of the built up areas, but it appears Guam itself isn’t anything to write home about.
I visited Guam last June when we were still living overseas in Asia.
I do agree that the beaches were nicer than Hawaii. However, the infrastructure wasn't very nice in general. We stayed at the Hyatt on Tumon Beach. It was ok, but nothing special. We were told it was about the nicest hotel on the island. We were there right after the typhoon so some places were still closed down and others had visible damage. Still, I could tell that it was a bit run down even before the typhoon. We went into the K-Mart to get American products and it was really depressing. We drove around the island and there were some gorgeous areas but most of the populated areas were very run down.
All in all, I was glad that I went there for a few days, just to get the feel of the place. However, with the exception of the beaches, I'd say it's no way comparable to Hawaii. Having lived in Asia and traveled to several beach destinations (Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia), I'd prefer any of them to Guam. Much nicer accommodations, more culture and less expensive. I'm glad I saw Guam but I probably won't go back.
My dad was stationed there during the Vietnam war, I was "almost" born there, luckily he got transferred to main land USA. Guam wasn't ideal back then (50+ years ago)
A buddy's brother had been living there for the last 3 years, doing infrastructure work and getting paid extremely well. When his gig was up, he flew home and didn't stay an extra day (2023)
My dad was stationed there during the Vietnam war, I was "almost" born there, luckily he got transferred to main land USA. Guam wasn't ideal back then (50+ years ago)
A buddy's brother had been living there for the last 3 years, doing infrastructure work and getting paid extremely well. When his gig was up, he flew home and didn't stay an extra day (2023)
We did a trip a few months earlier to Boracay, Philippines and absolutely loved it. We had wanted to explore more of the islands there, including Palawan. When we were in Guam on day 2, we were kicking ourselves as to why we didn't go to Philippines instead.
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