Other destinations lag Hawai'i tourism

By Susan Hooper
Advertiser Staff Writer

In spite of the sharp downturn in tourism here last year, Hawai'i fared better than some other global tourism destinations, according to new research from the Pacific Asia Travel Association.

The number of visitors to Hawai'i dropped 9.3 percent in 2001 compared to the year before, according to the association's research. By comparison, the number of visitors to the U.S. Mainland dropped 10.7 percent last year, while Guam's visitor count dipped 9.9 percent.

"Often in Hawai'i, we tend not to realize that we're really part of a larger market," said Joseph Toy, president of Honolulu tourism consulting firm Hospitality Advisors LLC. "But a number of other destinations have fared just as we have, or even worse."

Toy, past chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association Research Council, released the data yesterday at a meeting of the association's Hawai'i chapter.

Monthly figures for 2001 show that tourism in many countries was beginning to slow in midyear with the onset of a global economic decline, Toy said. But before Sept. 11, many places were still having "a fairly decent year," he said.

But the terrorist attacks disrupted tourism worldwide. Compared to the year before, 2001 visitor arrivals dropped 7.5 percent in Canada, 5.2 percent in Mexico, 3.3 percent in South Korea and 2.6 percent in Australia, Toy said.

Competition is likely to be fierce this year for the smaller number of global travelers, according to Toy. And those who are traveling will be looking for deals, he said.

"There are going to be value travelers, because everybody's discounting right now," he said.

The travel association's research council also provided information on outbound travel in four markets last year. Travel from Japan was down by 3.6 percent and travel from Singapore fell 5 percent, compared to 2000. But travel by Canadians to destinations other than the U.S. Mainland was up 7 percent from 2000, while travel by South Koreans was up 12.9 percent, according to Toy.

Toy said Hawai'i was one of the destinations to benefit from travels by Canadians last year. And South Koreans took a lot of trips within Asia last year, including travel to North Korea, he said.