Guam International Airport and Lotte Guam will hold their grand Duty Free Mall opening on July 25 following its major 10-month renovation.

 

This follows the extensive upgrading and refurbishment at the airport, where Lotte Duty Free Business Development Team Leader Steve Park said: “Business is increasing; it’s very good.” He added that fashion brands, perfume and cosmetics, and liquor and tobacco are the main duty free items selling in Guam Airport at present.

According to Park, the retailer has carried out the duty free mall renovation in two phases to minimise disruption to passengers. Duty free shops and boutiques, which occupy about 2,000sq m in total area are centrally located in the  passenger departure concourse after passengers complete immigration and customs clearance.

Lotte completed its renovations of the perfume and cosmetics and liquor and tobacco shops back in January, with each occupying about 500 sq m. The remodelled perfume and cosmetics store opened first, followed two weeks later by the renovated liquor and tobacco shop.

The P&C and L&T stores are located on facing corners in the central departure concourse and are positioned opposite the parade of 10 luxury brand boutiques on the other side of the concourse. As reported already, these include Bvlgari, Salvatore Ferragammo, Tory Burch, Burberry and Coach.

 

Guam International Airport.

 

HEALTHY VISITOR NUMBERS
Just under 1.4m departing passengers used Guam Airport in 2013, with Japanese passengers at 70% still representing the largest visitor group. According to a new Economic Study by the First Hawaiian Bank, the outlook for Guam also looks very promising.

It says: “2013 was another solid growth year for tourism in Guam, with 1.334 million visitors, a level not seen since 1995-97 [This compares with 1.278m in 2012-Ed]. This demonstrates the resilience of tourism, thanks in part to increased diversification; the lower Japanese visitor count was more than made up for by more visitors from other markets. For 2014, early data shows arrivals virtually flat (down 0.6 percent) from January to April compared to 2013.”

The report continues: “The 2013 count of 1.334 million tourists visiting Guam is higher than any year since the mid-1990s, showing the industry’s resilience in weathering the effect of the weakened Japanese yen. The weaker yen since September 2012 reduced Japanese visitors to Guam by 3.9% in 2013 compared to 2012.”

[The Guam Visitors Bureau points to 893,118 Japanese arrivals down -3.9% in 2013 and 245,655 Korean arrivals – up 34.4%. Chinese arrivals numbers still have some way to go, reaching 11,225 in 2013, a rise of 25.6%. All other arrivals’ nationalities numbered less than 11,000 each-Ed].

Any readers wishing to study the Economic Forecast: 2014 GUAM-CNMI EDITION can find it at the following link: https://www.fhb.com/en/assets/File/Marketing/2014_GuamCNMI_EconForecast.pdf]

 

LOTTE SPONSORED MUSIC FESTIVAL
Meanwhile, last month saw a sell-out crowd attend the first-ever Guam Visitors Bureau/Lotte Duty Free Guam Live International Music Festival on the Pacific Island on June 6-7. Local and international artists from the UK, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and the USA entertained the crowd at Paseo Stadium in Hagatna, Guam where Lotte Duty Free was the headline sponsor.

Among the highlights of the two-day event were the appearance of Guam-born, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Pia Mia, and performances from the world of K-Pop by girl group Brown Eyed Girls and urban-electro band NU’EST.

 

K-Pop from girl group Brown Eyed Girls.

“As headline sponsors of Guam Live, we are delighted at the great response to this event,” said Jamie Lee, CEO of Lotte Duty Free Guam. “Ever since we established our business on the island, Lotte Duty Free pledged that we would build close ties with the local community and play our role in driving tourism growth in Guam.

“Guam Live has allowed us to showcase our unique star marketing capabilities and our close links to some of Asia’s hottest music acts, which are so popular with our core customer groups. I’d like to thank GVB for their partnership and look forward to our collaborations in the future.”