GUAM LOOKING TO BUILD MORE HOTELS
GENEROUS TAX BREAKS TO MEET RECORD DEMAND FOR ROOMS
2015 BEST YEAR EVER FOR TOURIST ARRIVALS
The official 2015 numbers are in, and the Guam Visitor’s Bureau says the tropical US Territory in the heart of the Asia-Pacific had its best year ever.
1.4 million visitors came to Guam in 2015, the island known as “America in Asia” because it is reachable in just a few hours by direct flight from Japan, Korea, China, and other Asian markets.
The record-breaking growth was fueled by a 39% surge in Korean vacationers to the island and a 45% increase in the still nascent Chinese visitor market.
Guam’s tourism industry still relies mostly on the Japanese; half of all arrivals in 2015 were from Japan. But Visitors Bureau General Manager Nate Denight says by also focusing marketing efforts on Korea and China the island is able to maintain steady, record breaking growth.
MORE HOTELS NEEDED
However, Denight also advises the island is going to need more hotel rooms to sustain its charted course of growth to reach between 1.75 and 2 million annual visitors by 2020.
“That's also a big challenge, but we're working together with GEDA [Guam Economic Development Authority] to get more hotel rooms so we can ultimately hit our tourism 2020 goals,” he stated.
Under a law passed last year, developers of hotel rooms can receive a tax abatement, exemption and rebate equal to 10% of their total construction costs through a program administered by the Economic Development Authority.
The incentives can be used in one of 4 ways:
75% income tax rebate for 20 years, or 50% business privilege tax credits for 20 years, or 100% real property tax abatement for 10 years, or 100% use tax exemption on furnishings and equipment within the first year of a hotel’s operation.The incentives have drawn interest from a number of developers and applications for new construction are pending before the island’s Land Use Commission.
GUAM – UNIQUELY EB5
While Asian investors search the world over for projects to put their money at work, the best EB5 opportunity may actually be in their own backyard.
Guam’s geographic proximity to Asia vs. projects in North America distinguishes its EB5 projects, there also are no restrictions on who can own land. Its many cultural, historical, and other similarities are also a plus for immigrant investors from Asia.
The island’s US standard infrastructure includes modern sea and airports; roads and utilities. US EPA environmental standards are enforced for the land, air, and water. The island also has public and private schools, a Community College that awards degrees in 2 years and a 4-year University with graduate and research programs; both are fully U.S. accredited.
These and many other factors, including year-round tropical weather that is attracting record numbers of Asian tourists, combine to make “America in Asia” a unique choice in the EB5 marketplace. See article at www.guameb5.com
--by John Ryan