ABOUT TYPHOON MAWAR, GUAM IN MAY 2023
A powerful typhoon Marwar smashed the U.S territory Guam and continued damaging things with strong winds and heavy rains. The typhoon knocked down trees, walls, powerlines, and more. The typhoon, the strongest to hit the territory of roughly 150,000 people since 2002, briefly made landfall Wednesday night as a Category 4 storm at Andersen Air Force Base on the northern tip of the island, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Patrick Doll. The storm wind was 150mph and the winds were 150mph until the next morning after the typhoon. The typhoon also flipped cars and ripped branches. The winds screeched and howled all night. Videos were posted on the internet like facebook and instagram. “It looks like toothpicks,” Aydlett said. “It looks like a scene from the movie ‘Twister,’ with things just thrashed apart. Lots of Guam is dealing with a major mess that’s going to take weeks to clean up.” The weather service says that the storm made landfall around 9pm. Tinian and Saipan were under tropical storm warning (Bordallo).
Typhoon Mawar of Guam Impacted the Tourist Population
Guam's tourist sector is regarded as the most important economic contributor to the island's economy, employing about 21,000 people in the local community, and accounting for one-third of the total employment. It also produces $260 million in government income. Forming on May 19, 2023 and ending on June 3, 2023, it is estimated that the negative effects Mawar would have on Guam would last for about 2 years. That includes housing, and nature, but in terms of money, tourism might be the most affected part of Guam by typhoon Mawar. With the lockdowns that happen during natural disasters, many tourists have been trapped on the island. At the time of the typhoon, there were 6000 tourists, of which 3200 people were korean. And many have canceled a trip to Guam due to the typhoon. The economic loss just with tourism is close to 100M$.
According to Guam Visitors Bureau Monthly Visitor’s Reports, Guam had 55,354 visitors in April 2023, and in May it dropped to 44,347. After Typhoon Mawar in May 2023, the number of visitors was 17,310, in June and 52,154 in July which showed a significant recovery in two months. The social and economical aspects of sustainable solutions are several.
First, the government can adopt a “Program for the Recovery of Regular Air Service.” This is achieved by travel agencies that are prepared to charter aircraft straight to Guam. Each flight seat sold will earn a certain amount of money as an incentive and depending on its sellable seat allotment, a partner might get support when it contracts charter flights.
Growing air seat capacity from Guam's tourism source markets is a way to island paradise. In pursuit of this objective, the government should offer assistance to air carriers as a motivating factor to initiate air service to Guam. The second way to rebuild tourism is by managing the media. This is achieved by helping journalists understand the damage. With accurate and detailed information, balanced coverage about the topic will be achieved, and there would be more positive stories rather than continually negative reports. Another way is by utilizing social media in order to look at the public opinions and promote the location in a positive manner.
The benefits of this solution can be as follows:
First it is a strategic use of charter flights to meet seasonal air service demands.
Second, as the travel and tourism sector experiences economic recovery, it is important to share the risk of doing business.
Lastly, it will raise awareness of Guam in target markets by highlighting the island's distinctive features.
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References:
https://www.guamvisitorsbureau.com/research/statistics/visitor-arrival-statistics