Tourism official sees quick recovery
By Janis L. Magin
Associated Press
Four months after terrorist attacks sharply cut the number of visitors to Hawai'i, tourism officials said yesterday they expect the number of people arriving next month to exceed the same period last year.
One day after an economist predicted Hawai'i's economy may not recover until the first quarter of 2003, Tony Vericella, president and chief executive officer of the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau, said projections show tourism making a complete recovery by the summer.
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"Hawai'i is the kind of place that is satisfying people's needs on a number of levels," Vericella said.
The number of airline seats to the state are near the level they were for the same period last year, and by the end of February the number will be greater than the number of seats for February 2001, he said.
Airlines adding service from Denver and Houston also are expected to boost arrivals, he said.
The HVCB said the number of visitors from the United States in December was 95 percent of its pre-Sept. 11 figures, while visitors from Japan were between 50 percent to 60 percent of pre-attack numbers.
"For North America, things look very positive," Vericella said at a media luncheon to outline the bureau's marketing strategy for the year.
Vericella said the bureau's goal for 2002 was to surpass the 2001 figures with a return to the banner numbers from 2000, when visitor arrivals in Hawai'i reached the highest levels ever, topping 7 million, according to a report by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
On Monday, Carl Bonham, an economist at the University of Hawai'i and a member of the state Council on Revenues, told lawmakers in advance of the 2002 Legislative session that tourism job losses from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks likely would continue until the first quarter of next year. State economist Pearl Imada Iboshi said leading state economic indicators have not signaled any increase in growth in Hawai'i's economy in the next five to 10 months.
But Vericella said his office expects better results than the economists' projections, adding that the HVCB will not ask the Legislature for any emergency financing.
The bureau is spending up to $1 million to help media from Japan do stories about Hawai'i, Vericella said. Twenty television, radio, newspaper and magazine outlets in Japan have signed up to come to Hawai'i. The bureau's role is mainly to help reporters and crews get around, but sometimes involves paying airfare, he said.
Vericella said his bureau has done similar projects before, but "this is the first time we've done so many in such a short period of time."
Additionally, the Hawai'i Tourism Authority has signed an agreement with the PGA to hold at least six PGA and Senior PGA Tour events in Hawai'i each year. Such tournaments bring in $59 million to the state economy and give the state 40-50 hours of TV exposure, he said.
Vericella also said Disney will release a full-length animated feature set in Hawai'i in June. "Lilo & Stitch" is a story about an alien who escapes and disguises himself as the pet dog of a girl in Hawai'i named Lilo. Vericella said the film, which will premiere in California, is "set around the concepts of family and 'ohana."
The bureau also is launching an "Experience Aloha" tour to promote Hawai'i in 18 Mainland cities and giving away 500,000 "mahalo" packets containing a thank you note from Gov. Ben Cayetano to hotel guests as they depart Hawai'i.
