Tumon Sands Plaza, which for many years was one of the main hubs of popular luxury retail stores for tourists and local customers on Guam is all but closed, except for two restaurants — Joinus Keyaki and Chili’s. Monte Mesa, general manager of Tumon Sands Plaza, said the tourism downturn has affected luxury brand retail sales on Guam. Mesa also manages Guam Premier Outlets, which is also owned by S-199 Real Estate LLC, a Delaware-based investment company.
Guam was touted as a duty-free destination, which made it an attractive place for tourists to purchase more expensive designer merchandise at locations such as Tumon Sands Plaza. But Mesa said the same brands that attracted visiting shoppers to Tumon Sands Plaza “are now readily available in Japan and Korea.” ”Changing shopping habits of tourists are leading us to reposition TSP to having U.
S. outlet upscale brand stores not yet on Guam, catering to both local residents and tourists alike,” Mesa added. But he said the planned rebranding and renovation of Tumon Sands Plaza is contingent upon tourism numbers growing back to pre-COVID numbers.
He said they are still working with U.S. retail sources “to hopefully have them investing by late 2025.
” ”A tourist arrival upward trend needs to happen to build our U.S. retail investor’s confidence to commit for the Guam project,” Mesa added.
Tumon Sands Plaza’s prime location near the center of the Tumon visitor shopping district and its upscale design generated .