LIHU‘E — Hawai‘i’s tourism industry may be caught in the fallout of the devastating earthquake that rocked Japan this month, as Japanese tourists cancel their Hawaiian vacations. O‘ahu is reportedly experiencing the deepest impact with cancellations occurring in the thousands.
LIHU‘E — Hawai‘i’s tourism industry may be caught in the fallout of the devastating earthquake that rocked Japan this month, as Japanese tourists cancel their Hawaiian vacations.
O‘ahu is reportedly experiencing the deepest impact with cancellations occurring in the thousands.
But, like the tsunami that followed Japan’s quake, the impact on the Garden Island is expected to be negligible.
“Fortunately, we haven’t seen any widespread cancellations as of yet,” Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau Executive Director Sue Kanoho said. “Usually, people in the industry are pretty good about letting me know.”
Of Hawai‘i’s four major islands, O‘ahu has the highest level of Japanese tourism, followed by the Big Island, Maui and Kaua‘i. As such, Kaua‘i is least impacted by fluctuations in Japanese tourism levels.
More than 1.2 million Japanese visitors traveled to Hawai‘i last year and spent $1.9 billion, Hawai‘i Tourism Authority reports indicate. Approximately 2 percent of those visitors came to Kaua‘i. Average daily spending was $268 per person.
Kanoho said she had tentatively planned to visit Japan this year to promote tourism to Kaua‘i.
“The sad part is we were really going ramp up marketing,” Kanoho said. “Plans are on hold for right now. The month of May is definitely out, but maybe October.
“If we went now,” she said, “it would be more of a relief trip than sales trip.”
Donations to the Japanese Red Cross Society may be made through Kaua‘i Kokua Japan relief fund at all First Hawaiian Bank branches through March 31. For more information, call Kaui Tanaka at 241-4910.
