Japanese tourists rebound

By Chisaki Watanabe
Associated Press

TOKYO — Rebounding after last year's terrorist attacks on the United States, Japanese tourists are once again set to flood abroad for the holidays, with bookings to Hawai'i at 99 percent of pre-attack levels.

Reservations for package tours to Hawai'i in December made through Japan's five main travel agencies are up 140 percent from December 2001.

Reservations to all destinations are up an average of 147 percent from the same month in 2001, according to the Japan Association of Travel Agents.

The association said this year's holiday exodus overall was nearly back to the pre-Sept. 11 levels, reaching 92 percent of the number of reservations made in December 2000.

Hawai'i's tourism industry, and especially Waikiki, would welcome an increase in Japanese visitors, who typically spend twice as much per day as Mainland tourists. Arrivals from Japan dropped more than Mainland arrivals after Sept. 11 and have been slower to recover.

Japanese travel to the U.S. Mainland and Canada has not yet recovered, with December reservations running just 48 percent of what they were two years ago. China was the fastest growing market, with a 206 percent increase over last year.

The figures were compiled Oct. 31.