MAR-VIC CAGURANGEN/AFP via Getty Images
- Guam's vaccine tourism package wants to snag visitors who are tired of waiting for jabs back home.
- The island expects more than 2,000 tourists from Taiwan over the next two months.
- Taiwan's vaccination efforts have been lagging due to a shortage in doses.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
With its Covid-19 vaccination drive running smoothly, Guam has launched a new bid to attract tourists to its island shores – a vaccination and vacation program it calls "Air V&V."
The packages have been a hit with tourists from Taiwan, which is struggling to inoculate its 23.5 million population due to a major shortage of doses.
Guam, a US island territory in the Western Pacific, welcomed its first 153 Taiwanese visitors on Tuesday, according to the Guam Visitors Bureau. Around 2,000 more tourists are expected from Taiwan in July and August, it added.
They will still have to quarantine for seven days in their hotels, where they will receive Covid-19 tests to ensure they can receive their jab. Following quarantine, travelers who are 12 and older can take their pick from Moderna, Pfizer, or single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
Guam also requires passengers to present a negative Covid-19 test before they board their flight to the island.
Its travel bundles include digital vaccination records, health monitoring, another Covid-19 test before visitors depart the island, and transportation to and from participating hotels, which include the Dusit Thani Guam Resort, Grand Plaza Hotel, and Hyatt Regency Guam.
Packages start from around $1,400 inclusive and include the cost of flights and hotels, though the vaccines and coronavirus tests will cost tourists an additional $300 to $400.
"This program captures a unique demographic of travelers around the world that are tired of waiting to get vaccinated in this pandemic," said Guam Visitors Bureau President and CEO Carl Gutierrez in June, when Air V&V was launched.
"This will give a shot in the arm to our tourism industry through this unique and valuable service, offering more opportunities to put our people back to work and get our economy roaring again," he added.
Taiwanese travel agencies told local media that their tours to Guam have sold out or are almost fully booked.
One of these agencies, Lion Travel, said that 97% of passengers on its flights to Guam are going there to get vaccinated. Most of these passengers are under the age of 50, it added, an age range not yet covered by Taiwan's vaccine program.
Guam is the first in the world to roll out an international vaccine tourism program, though places like Bali, the Maldives, and Russia have also pushed for the idea before.