Tourists in Guam unfazed by DPRK missile threat

World Today

Tourists in Guam unfazed by DPRK missile threat 2

As the U.S. island of Guam gets caught in the war of words between the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump, there has been concern that its tourism industry may take a hit.

But that does not seem to be a case.

CGTN’s Barnaby Lo reports.

Foreigners come to the U.S. island of Guam for the sea, sand, and sun. South Koreans and Japanese – the DPRK’s neighbors – comprise a majority of tourist arrivals in Guam. Guam is more than 3,000 kilometers away from Pyongyang, the DPRK’s capital. If anything they said, they’re moving away from the threat.

More than half of Guam’s economy is dependent on tourism. Last year, the island had about 1.5 million visitors who spent around $1.6 billion.

The island’s Visitors Bureau said the nuclear threat has had little to no negative impact on tourism so far, but that doesn’t mean there’s isn’t concern.

“The long-term effects of this can You know as I mentioned, people’s decisions for where to travel can be easily affected so we’re going to have to monitor it, make sure that we get the word out that Guam is safe. There’s been no change in the threat level which means it’s business as usual,” Said Jon Nathan Denight, CEO of the Guam Visitors Bureau.

And with all the media attention on Guam now, Denight said making the crisis work to the island’s advantage, as U.S. President Trump had suggested, may not be too big of a stretch.


Antonia Muna discusses Guam’s tourism industry

For more CGTN’s Rachelle Akuffo spoke to Antonio Muna, Vice President of the Guam Visitors Bureau.