Gov. Linda Lingle and Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona Jr. will travel separately to Asia this week to promote international travel to Hawai‘i, a press release says. The state’s top two leaders will visit Indonesia, Taiwan, China, Japan and the
Gov. Linda Lingle and Lt. Gov. James “Duke” Aiona Jr. will travel separately to Asia this week to promote international travel to Hawai‘i, a press release says.
The state’s top two leaders will visit Indonesia, Taiwan, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea with the goal of increasing Asian visitors to Hawai‘i. Lingle and Aiona will meet with Asian airline officials to seek new air service and increases in the number of flights and seats from key Asian cities to Hawai‘i’s international airports in Honolulu, Kona and Hilo.
“It is critical that we do all we can to reach out to our traditional visitor base in Japan as well as emerging markets such as China and Korea to encourage people to visit Hawai‘i,” Lingle said in the Thursday announcement.
China earlier this year eased restrictions on group leisure travel to the United States, and Korean travelers will be eligible to visit the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program starting Nov. 17. The existing program allows citizens of specific developed countries to travel to the U.S. for tourism or business for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa.
“We are uniquely situated to capitalize on new developments in international tourism,” Aiona said in the release. “It is therefore important that we work with our travel partners in Asia to increase air seat capacity to our airports.”
However, the pair’s efforts may not significantly impact the island of Kaua‘i, at least in the short term.
Sue Kanoho of the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau said in a Thursday phone interview that new visitors to Hawai‘i often spend their first trip on O‘ahu or Maui, coming to the Garden Isle and the Big Island on subsequent vacations.
State Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert agreed.
“With any first-time visitor, they’re probably going to be coming to the island of O‘ahu first,” she said in a phone interview. “As they get to know the destination, I firmly believe the Neighbor Islands will see that growth from the new markets.
“Will it be the first year? No. It will be within the first two or three years as they become more acquainted with the destination.”
Kanoho said, “That’s why these trips are so important, because those relationships need to be nurtured. It might put us on the map in some of those places. When you have a government official of that stature go over there, it can only help.”
Data provided by Kanoho showed nearly 85 percent of Kaua‘i’s 70,600 arrivals in September came from Mainland North America, leaving significant room for growth from Asian markets.
Wienert said she expected the number of visitors to Hawai‘i from South Korea to double from the 40,000 that came last year to 80,000 in the year following the Nov. 17 commencement of the Visa Waiver Program, then to double again to 160,000 in the year after that.
She expected China’s numbers to similarly spike to just over 200,000 visitors to Hawai‘i within two years. The “wanderlust” of Chinese and Korean citizens to visit U.S. locations they’ve never been able to see before will drive local tourism, she said, as long as airlines expand their current flight routes to meet the demand.
The new visitors from Korea and China could make an immediate impact. Hawai‘i had just over 7 million visitors last year, Wienert said.
“It’s a small but a noticeable bump that helps us diversify our geographic market mix of visitors,” she said, “so we’re not so reliant on the continental United States and Japan.”
Lingle will be traveling tomorrow through Nov. 22 and will make stops in Bali, Indonesia for the East-West Center board of directors annual meeting; Taipei, Taiwan to meet with China Airlines to discuss the need for increased airline seats to the islands; and Shanghai, China to participate in the China National Tourism Administration’s China International Travel Mart, Asia’s largest international tourism fair.
At the fair, Lingle, along with Ted Liu, Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism director; Lloyd Unebasami, Hawai‘i Tourism Authority interim president; and David Uchiyama, HTA vice president of marketing; will meet with tourism leaders, tour wholesalers, travel agents, airlines, travel writers and other travel businesses from Asia and around the globe.
Aiona, to be accompanied by Wienert, Unebasami and Uchiyama, will be traveling tomorrow through Nov. 18, making stops at Seoul and Jeju, South Korea to encourage Asiana Airlines to pursue the possibility of resuming air service to Hawai‘i and Tokyo, Japan to meet with airline executives and travel industry leaders to encourage their continued support of Hawai‘i and seek ways to increase visitor arrivals and air service.
In addition to promoting tourism, Hawai‘i’s top leaders will also be working to expand business investments and partnerships, with a specific focus on renewable energy, the release states. Travel expenses are being paid for through a combination of funding sources, including the state government as well as international organizations.
• Michael Levine, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or mlevine@kauaipubco.com
