The Future of Tourism City Cheongsong <1>

Tour of Guam,

Tour of Guam : In the Footsteps of Mother Nature

The beautiful harmony between 'Nature and Man'… Maintaining its reputation as one of the world's best tourist destinations

Tours through the untamed jungles

Guam, the size of Korea's Geoje Island, has a highly developed tourism industry which attracts thousands of tourists each year. Based upon its natural resources, the island has a variety of tourism elements making it an ideal place from which Cheongsong may gain valuable insight into becoming a tourism hotspot.

Tour of Guam,

Visited by 4.5 million tourists in 2017, it is expected that Cheongsong-gun is at the brink of entering an era of 10 million tourists per year. Cheongsong has gained a global reputation for being listed as a UNESCO World Geological Park, re-certified by Cittaslow International, and hosting the Ice Climbing World Cup. As a result, the city's brand value is steadily growing over time.

Until now, Cheongsong has only been able to meet tourism demands with extremely limited tourism elements such as Juwangsan National Park and locally grown apples. However, more diverse elements must be developed and supplemented by elements with consideration for 'long-stays', 'return visits' and the 'local economy'.

Tour of Guam,

Located about 4 hours by plane, the US territory of Guam is a world-renown tourist destination. Although it is similar in size to Korea's Geoje Island, it is visited by thousands of people from all over the world every year.

The tourism elements of Guam can be categorized into those that are natural, artificial, and created over time. The island utilizes its pristine natural resources in the same way as Cheoseong does while having created artificial elements to supplement its weaknesses. Moreover, it has allowed unique and diverse tourism elements to flourish by preserving the indigenous culture which has taken shape over its long history.

This journal aims to shed light upon the advanced tourism landscape of Guam divided into three chapters and plans to propose a direction for Cheongsong to develop into a better tourism destination.

◆ Million Cruise

Being an island is one of the best tourism elements endowed by the heavens. The reason for this is because it is possible to utilize the unlimited supply of tourism resources and food found offshore. As such, Guam has a highly developed marine sports industry and entertainment culture. The best of which is the Million Cruise. This cruise gives tourists the opportunity to enjoy marine sports out in the open ocean. They are made to wear life vests followed by a short session on safety instruction before being allowed to jump into the sea.

Tour of Guam,

Under the emerald-colored ocean, tourists can observe a variety of different fish species just as if they were in a gigantic aquarium. Large fish, the size of an adult's arm, gracefully glide through the water around the tourists while thousands of small, sardine-like fish swim about making the ocean seem like it is filled with stars. If one has the ability to free dive, he or she can dive up to a depth of 3 to 5 meters where they can meet other aquatic lifeforms.

For those who do not like getting wet, the cruise also offers a chance for tourists to see pods of dolphins or porpoises on deck. Seeing dolphins on the cruise is easy since the ship goes far out onto the open ocean. Since dolphins tend to appear next to sailing ships in comparison to those that are anchored, the captain constantly propels the ship forward in search of dolphins hiding beneath the surface while occasionally stopping in between. If in luck, tourists may also spot sea turtles or even a whale during the cruise.

Tourists can also enjoy fishing on deck. Fishing rods and bait prepared beforehand are used to catch tropical reef fish. It is possible to catch fish the size of adult hands just by dropping the fishing line with some bait on the hook. While tourists have fun fishing, they are served fresh tuna sashimi and beer as a complimentary service.

Children who are not old enough to swim in the ocean can enjoy playing on the small pool installed on the ship.

◆Jungle Tour

The jungles of Guam, which is more accurately describe as being close to a pristine and natural state, arouses curiosity while astounding visitors with its grandiose scale. A jungle tour begins on a boat at the mouth of the river where it meets the ocean. It takes tourists into an environment which is not easy to come by.

Tour of Guam,

A small piece of bread dropped on the water led to a gigantic catfish breaking the surface to eat it. The tour allowed us to meet various flora and fauna living in the marsh. The professional guide, who was highly familiar with the jungle ecosystem, explained the behaviors of animals and plants found in Guam as well as the environment in which they live.

Tour of Guam,

It was interesting to see land crabs and coconut crabs, which I had only seen on TV, a meter away from each other. Since they were wild, we were only able to see them from the boat for safety reasons. We were told that coconut crabs dig burrows at the base of coconut trees and become bigger each time they molt. Coconut crabs used in cooking are said to typically be more than 50 years old. Furthermore, we were also told that TV shows showing crabs being caught, cooked, and eaten right away are exaggerated. Coconut crabs have a distinct smell to them in addition to being poisonous; therefore, they must be processed for about a week before they are edible.

◆ Fresh Ingredients and Diverse Cuisine

Being an island with a tropical climate, there is an abundance of seafood and high-quality tropical fruits in Guam. Due to this, there is a variety of dishes which use these two ingredients. Since Guam is a territory of the United States frequented by tourists, western style cuisine is prevalent throughout the island.

Tour of Guam,

The most common dishes served throughout the island is grilled fish. Sauces made with tropical fruits are eaten alongside the fish. The savoriness of the fish and sweetness of the sauce come together in harmony causing an endorphin explosion in brain.

Usually, part of the ingredients used in the day's dishes are presented at the entrance of restaurants to show that they are using fresh ingredients. In doing so, it satisfies the curiosity of the customer who would otherwise be wondering what ingredients the chef uses to cook the dishes they are about to eat and instills a sense of pride in the restaurants.

Jung-Min Lee (44·Seoul), who visits Guam every year states, "It is the best place to go for a family vacation. Our family usually goes on a lot of nature exploration tours and my children love it. I especially think that is fun seeing that the environment changes every time we go."

The local guide, Tommy Kang, says "Tour patterns in Guam is no different from the way it was ten years ago. We were able to maintain Guam's status as one of the world's best tourist destinations because we made sure that the guidelines to protect and preserve nature was followed throughout the growth of the industry." He added by mentioning, "I hope other cities that want to grow into a tourist hotspot learn that they need to have the right civic awareness and clear way of thinking geared towards developing tourism as the main industry."

The million cruise is recommended to those who are seeking to enjoying marine sports when visiting Guam. It's an activity which the entire family can enjoy while being able to experience diverse attractions and fun activities.

You can enjoy snorkeling as one of the activities offered on the Million Cruise. Go exploring the undersea world after receiving a simple lesson on how to use the equipment and putting on safety equipment such as a life vest.