State may reassess Japanese daily spending
By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer
Japanese visitors are widely believed to be the highest spending tourists in Hawai'i, but some in the industry are doubting the accuracy of that long-held view.
According to the most recent data from the state Department of Business and Economic Development and Tourism for 2002 through November, visitors from Japan spent an average of $264.50 per person per day.
That is a 9.5 percent increase from $241.60 daily per person for Japanese visitors in the same period in 2001. In comparison, visitors from the western part of the United States, the largest visitor group, spent $138.60 per day.
The latest numbers have industry representatives scratching their heads. They say they are seeing more Japanese tourists looking for bargains and spending less on gifts like Gucci bags and other pricey brand-name items.
"You hear, 'Boy, I'm not sure
if our experience matches DBEDT's,'" said David Carey, Outrigger Enterprises Inc. chief executive and a Hawai'i Tourism Authority board member.
Spending figures are important because they help determine where the state targets its marketing efforts. The numbers also help hotels, retailers, tour operators and others in the industry arrive at their own marketing decisions.
The importance of Japanese visitors to the tourism industry is particularly critical as the industry considers where to invest scarce marketing dollars with the threat of a Gulf War growing.
Some in the industry predict that Japanese visitor business could drop as much as 40 percent to 50 percent if there is a war. That could mean, given past experience after the first Gulf War and Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a painful visitor drought while Hawai'i waits for a recovery.
DBEDT tourism research manager Eugene Tian said the department has revised its methodology for arriving at spending figures as part of ongoing efforts to improve its data. The adjustments could change the final Japanese spending figures for 2002, he said. DBEDT plans to release those figures later this month.
"We constantly need to keep improving our methodology so that they (the industry) will have the best results," said Les Enderton, O'ahu Visitors Bureau executive director. "It is not a perfect process."
One reason the figures may be less than accurate is that Japanese visitors are not bringing their children to Hawai'i as often as they once did. That reduces the number of people factored into per-person spending and inflates the final number — and the overall amount the Japanese spend compared to other visitor groups.
Sharon Weiner, DFS Hawai'i group vice president and a tourism authority board member, said there could be a $20 difference between the current figures and the revised figures for Japanese per-person per-day spending.
The revisions to come from the state could also change the sales target figure of $11.1 billion in overall visitor spending in Hawai'i this year.
"Nobody questions the importance of the data," said Barbara Okamoto, vice president for customer relationship management at the Hawai'i Visitors & Convention Bureau. "We're all committed to continue to evolve the program so that it's the most accurate possible."
While it may turn out that Japanese don't spend as much as previous data have shown, it will likely continue to show that Japanese spend the most per person per day.
But some who want to attract more visitors from areas like the Mainland, Korea and Europe argue that the Japanese account for less in total expenditures than Mainlanders and are fading in their importance to the Islands.
Visitors from Japan spent $2.1 billion in 2002 through November, lower than visitors from the eastern part of the Mainland who spent $2.5 billion and western half who spent $3.1 billion. This is because although Mainlanders spend less per day, they arrive in greater numbers than the Japanese.
Critics of efforts to focus on the Japanese also point out that because the Japanese spend a shorter period of time in Hawai'i than visitors from the U.S. Mainland and from Canada, the total amount they spend on a vacation is smaller.
The numbers bear this out. On average, the Japanese spent $1,598.40 per person per trip — less than visitors from the eastern part of the United States and from Canada and other countries, according to the partial 2002 data.
Canadians, for example, spent an average of $1,871.50 per person per trip because they stayed an average of 12.57 days compared to 6.04 days for the Japanese. Only visitors from the western part of the United States spent less per trip than Japanese.
But for many in the visitor sector, Japanese business is still their main staple.
"We always focus our efforts on the high-end package traveler for Japan," said Keith Vieira, regional vice president for Starwood Hotels & Resorts. "We've put a lot of emphasis in trying to grow the right type of traveler."
And how much the average visitor spends may be the most important measure for the tourism industry because Hawai'i has a finite ability to serve visitors and in effect must get the most revenue out of all who come.
"We only have so many hotel rooms," said the O'ahu Visitors Bureau's Enderton. "We have a limited capacity in these islands."
Reach Kelly Yamanouchi at 535-2470, or at kyamanouchi@honoluluadvertiser.com.
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