Firm seeks to entice Chinese tourists to Islands

By B.J. Reyes
Associated Press

As Hawai'i's tourism-based economy continues its slow, steady rebound from the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, there are those who say the state will have to look toward previously untapped markets in its effort to rebuild the industry.

One Honolulu-based company is attempting just that, as it seeks to lure 100 couples from China to the state for a five-day wedding event this spring.

Organizers say the event — with a Chinese television crew in tow to broadcast the Hawai'i experience back home — is just one way to jump-start tourism from China, one of the fastest-growing markets but also one of the smallest groups that has made the Islands a travel destination.

"We are seizing this opportunity to present Hawai'i as a premiere destination for weddings and honeymoons to the people of China," said Mike Nakamura, marketing director for United Hawaii Holding Co., which is organizing the wedding event. "Here we have an emerging economy that for the first time is being allowed to travel overseas for leisure purposes.

"Every foreign destination is excited about the potential from this nation. They keep seeing 1.2 billion people, and it's just mind-boggling when you think about it."

Once isolated from the world, Chinese are traveling abroad like never before.

A record 12.3 million Chinese went abroad between January 2002 and September, according to China's Ministry of Public Security, which issues passports.

During the entire first three decades of communist rule, just 210,000 people were allowed to go overseas. Also, some major countries didn't have relations with China, and only a few Chinese could afford foreign travel.

Through the first seven months of 2002, Hawai'i welcomed about 3,000 Chinese visitors per month, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Those figures were up about 12.2 percent from the same period in 2001.

By contrast, the number of visitors from the U.S. Mainland and Japan — the state's traditional target markets — numbered 295,000 and 119,000, respectively, in November alone, according to DBEDT figures.

Many believe the immediate potential for travel from China is limited because of visa restrictions, which in turn limit the number of flights from China.

"We have a lot of hope that the Chinese market will be a strong future one, although we don't expect that in 2003," said Keith Vieira, regional vice president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts. "It's still an issue of visas."

"The Chinese market is on everybody's radar screen," said Rex Johnson, president and chief executive of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority. "We all know it's going to be a huge player just because of sheer numbers."

For several years, the state has courted China, sending delegations to encourage business travel and tourism. Last July, the Hawai'i Visitors & Convention Bureau announced an agreement with Hainan Airline Group, China's fourth-largest airline, to promote tourism to Hawai'i.

Still, when the Hawai'i Visitors & Convention Bureau was asked last October to cut $1.25 million from its budget for 2003, much of the cut came from the developing international markets category, which includes China and South Korea, as well as areas in Europe, Oceania and Latin America.

Observers say Hawai'i, about 5,000 miles from China, is a natural fit for Chinese tourists because of its Asian culture and historical ties to China.

Hawai'i is the former home to Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the leader of the 1911 revolution that ended imperial rule. He is revered as the founder of modern China.

"Those are the kinds of cultural things that we need to find in common so that we're not just another destination — so that there's some connection to their culture and to their history that would be an attraction for them to come over," said state Sen. Donna Kim, the Senate's tourism committee chairwoman.

United Hawaii Holding Co. was founded last month with the goal of doing just that — showcasing Hawai'i as a premiere travel spot not only for weddings but for cultural tourism, said founders Thomas Tay and Gordon Ho.

For its wedding event, the company has secured a contract with Tianjin TV, which claims 800 million viewers.

Tay estimates the event will cost about $500,000.

Couples would pay their own expenses, while United Hawaii would arrange the venues for both the ceremony and a banquet complete with a luau and hula program.

Advertiser staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi contributed to this report.