$50M approved for tourism push

By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — In the weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Hawai'i made a direct appeal to Japan that "Aloha Magic" was still alive on the Islands.

The advertising pitch sought to assure Japan that it was not in bad taste to have fun in the United States, even after attacks that were compared to the surprise Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor in World War II.

Americans, after all, were told almost immediately that vacation and business travel was not only appropriate but also essential for the nation's economy to recover.

"The markets are very different in terms of their characteristics and motives," said Frank Haas, vice president of marketing for the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, of the value of tailoring advertising to specific countries.

Congress, in an effort to help states like Hawai'i rebound from the economic fallout from the attacks, has approved $50 million to promote the United States abroad. The money is part of a federal spending package Congress passed on Thursday to finance government operations this year.

Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, and other lawmakers had asked for $100 million, but budget negotiators settled on half that amount. The Department of Commerce will determine how to divide the money between federal, state and regional travel and tourism officials.

"This could really help states like Hawai'i that focus on encouraging foreign tourism," Abercrombie said.

State lawmakers are considering whether to give the tourism authority $8 million in emergency aid to market Hawai'i if the United States goes to war with Iraq. Abercrombie and others have warned that tourism could plummet during a war, severely damaging the state's economy.

The Travel Industry Association of America estimated an 11.1 percent drop in international visitors to the United States in 2001, the year of the terrorist attacks, but believes there was only a negligible decline last year.

Hawai'i spent $12 million on an emergency tourism recovery project in the months after the attacks, with $4.8 million directed at Japan, which accounts for about 23 percent of annual visitors to the Islands.

A state delegation led by Gov. Ben Cayetano visited Japan in October 2001 and Hawai'i's federal lawmakers met with Japan's ambassador to the United States to discuss the importance of Japanese tourism to Hawai'i.

Overall, Hawai'i spent more than $18.1 million on tourism advertising last year. The state had more than 6.3 million visitors, including two million from foreign countries.