State prepares to open tourism office in Beijing

By Michele Kayal
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Hawai'i Visitors & Convention Bureau will officially open its Beijing office later this month, a major step toward drawing on a market it predicts will be the state's third-largest within a decade.

Before the end of the year, the bureau also plans to open an office in Shanghai, said bureau chief executive officer Tony Vericella.

Visitors from the Chinese mainland are expected to top 300,000 within the next five to 10 years, said Vericella.

About 50,000 visitors a year come directly from China right now, Vericella said, but he estimates the total number of visitors could be as high as 200,000 if travelers who are processed on the U.S. Mainland or through Japan first are counted.

Canada is Hawai'i's third largest market so far, with 300,000 people a year arriving.

"Those numbers will easily be exceeded in the next five to 10 years," Vericella said. "The efforts in China are absolutely the right thing to do."

Vericella also predicted there will be direct air service from mainland China to Hawai'i within the next two or three years. Visa issues are also troublesome for the China market, but Vericella said he believes those problems will slowly be resolved.

China has made strides toward greater integration with the international community. The country will be the host nation for the 2008 Olympic Games and it also hopes to join the World Trade Organization.