13 Sep 2010

Guam tourism boosted by US military September exercises

7:51 pm on 13 September 2010

Guam's Visitors Bureau says numerous hotels have reached occupancies of at least 85 percent for the month of September.

Currently close to 2,000 hotel rooms have been booked out solely for the US military, who have begun conducting a series of integrated joint training exercises in the region.

The exercises, which begin near Palau and ends near Guam, run from the 12th until the 21st September.

The Visitor Bureau's Deputy General Manager Ernie Galito says the military provides a welcome boost for the local economy.

"Not only does Guam benefit from the room revenue that they generate, but also servicemen are going to be looking for meals in restaurants, f and b [food and beverage] tabs, as well as car rentals, taxi cabs, and shopping and retail stores."

Ernie Galito says the number of visitors to Guam for September is already up about 21-percent on the same period last year.