Guam’s tourism arrival numbers showed double-digit growth at the end of last year, but Guam Visitors Bureau officials say there will likely be challenges in the coming months.
The island ended the calendar year with 782,840 visitors, an increase of 5.9% over 2024, but down 53% from 2019.
In December, overall arrivals were up 42%, and the number of visitors from South Korea was up 65.6% from December 2024.
During a GVB oversight hearing on Tuesday, officials said higher visitor numbers from South Korea were the result of the Korean Air – Asiana Airlines merger.
The Korean government required that the airlines maintained 90% of 2019 seat capacity to Guam, but that requirement expires at the end of this month.
Oversight chair Sen. Jesse Lujan said the situation led to some planes flying with very few passengers. These were referred to as “ghost flights,” and GVB President Régine Biscoe Lee said no airline incentive money was spent to bring them to Guam.
GVB Board Chairman George Chiu said the situation showed the importance of having increased seat capacity to Guam.
“It put bodies in the seats," he said. "Bodies in the seats meant tourism increasing in Guam.”
Chiu said higher tourism numbers will provide a boost to the island in the first two quarters of the fiscal year, but there could be problems ahead.
“The trouble is going to come April, May and June," Chiu said. "Then we're gonna have to pray that the military shows up to keep the hotel occupancy high.”
Last year, senators approved $10 million for airline incentives for fiscal 2026.
