State scrambles to develop special-market tours

By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer

Bernie Silverman has had enough of the typical sun, sand and surf vacation.

Tour guide Dominic Aki shows a map to tourists before a trail walk behind Nu'uanu Memorial Park. The Hawai'i Tourism Authority and the four counties are offering grants to organizations and businesses that develop educational tours. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

"You know, that's stuff where you go to the beaches and you lounge out and you go and see one or two things," said Silverman, 71.

For this latest visit, he wanted something more — a trip with lots of educational activities and a chance to learn about local culture.

So Silverman traveled to the Islands with his wife and granddaughter on an inter-generational cultural education tourism program organized by the University of Hawai'i at Hilo.

"This was really getting down to real Hawaiian culture," Silverman said. "You got to see the real thing, so it was an entirely different experience from when we did the tourist trips to Hawai'i."

With travelers becoming choosier about where they go and how they spend their time off, Hawai'i's tourism industry is banking on niche markets such as edu-tourism and cultural tourism to satisfy visitors' desire for more enriching vacation experiences.

Developing these specialized markets is a matter of survival in an increasingly competitive worldwide tourism industry.

Hawai'i has no monopoly on balmy weather vacations. The state's tourism leaders worry that they may be losing visitors to less expensive visitor spots like Florida, the Caribbean, Guam, Saipan and Costa Rica.

"The competition is getting rougher and rougher," said Marsha Wienert, Gov. Linda Lingle's tourism liaison. "Hawai'i needs to set itself apart."

What's more, a growing number of people are looking for vacations that are more adventurous than spending a few days on the beach.

Recognizing the need, the Hawai'i Tourism Authority and the four counties are offering $1.6 million in annual grants to organizations and businesses that can develop events and programs in eco-tourism, cultural tourism, agri-tourism, health and wellness tourism, edu-tourism and techno-tourism.

Visitors spray each other with insect repellent at Nu'uanu Memorial Park before beginning their hiking tour. More and more, tourists spend their vacations searching for unique experiences. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

Keeping the attention of travelers, especially repeat visitors like Silverman, is essential to sustaining Hawai'i's tourism base, tourism officials believe.

Instead of sunning on the sand and sipping mai-tais, the Silvermans spent their vacation learning about tsunami, meeting Big Island kupuna, taking up hula and helping prepare a family lu'au.

Throughout the Islands, small businesses and large resorts are looking for something new and different to offer to visitors. Aloha Festivals, for example, is a long-standing event that has evolved into one of the state's largest cultural tourism attractions.

While still built around the annual Aloha Parade, the Aloha Festivals feature ho'olaule'a in downtown and Waikiki, Hawaiian quilting lessons, and this year, a concert by one of Japan's top pop singers.

Aside from the $1.6 million in grants, support from the state for niche tourism includes a $100,000 Hawai'i Tourism Authority expenditure to coordinate an Aloha Arts Season next spring and a $55,000 health and wellness tourism development program.

Beyond an effort to cure tourism boredom, the niche market movement aims to encourage more visitor spending — and attract higher-spending tourists, those who have the disposable income to pay for unique visitor experiences.

The Fairmont Kea Lani Maui, for example, offered Body & Soul wellness packages starting from $580 per night.

Also accelerating the push for specialty tours is a shift in visitor attitudes toward leisure travel. Many travelers say they not only want to learn about local culture and people, but they want that education to be something "authentic."

"They're looking for something a little more substantial," said Annette Kaohelaulii, who runs birdwatching tours on O'ahu and heads the Hawaii Ecotourism Association.

That yearning for deeper, more meaningful experiences is part of a national trend. Eighty-one percent of U.S. adults who traveled in the past year included historical or cultural activities in their trips, according to a study by the Travel Industry Association of America and Smithsonian Magazine. Trips in 2002 with historical or cultural activities were up 13 percent from 1996.

Visitors' shifting needs

On one hand, Hawai'i's image as as a place to veg out on the beach runs counter to the authentic experiences many people are seeking.

But with Hawai'i's ethnic diversity, and its unique Hawaiian host culture, officials are hoping travelers will think first of the Islands when seeking to expand their cultural knowledge and engage in new experiences.

Some businesses have already seized the opportunity to cater to this growing demand.

"We promote ourselves as the greatest outdoor classroom in the world," said Judith Fox-Goldstein, director of the Hawaiian EDventure program, which ran Silverman's tour and offers everything from cuisine tours to astronomy tours and an eight-day "quilting experience."

"The nature of travel has changed so dramatically. ... As times change, I don't know anything that's more important than learning about other cultures."

She says the exploding trend of reality television with people diving out of airplanes, climbing rock walls and exploring dangerous places is also inspiring adventure tours.

"We're trying to think, how do we create that recreational appeal?" she said.

Dominic Aki, who runs cultural-historical eco-tours at Mauka Makai Excursions, thinks cable channels like the Discovery and Travel are also contributing to the desire for something different and unique.

"They're getting the idea that there really is more to do here," Aki said. "Everyone's asking for more and more culture."

Learning more about Islands

On a recent eco-tour led by Aki, a group of four Mainland couples tromped along O'ahu trails with walking sticks and bug spray to learn about plants, animals and the history of sites around the island.

Mike Mullin, a 60-year-old health, safety and environmental manager from Seabrook, Texas, learned about the tour from his daughter.

"My wife and I came over and the first thing we asked is, 'When are you going to have that eco-tour'?" Mullin said in a Texas twang. "We wanted to learn more about the island and people."

Environmentalists caution that before the industry heavily promotes tours to more remote parts of the Islands, the state should be ready to deal with the impact.

"If we're going to market these niche markets, let's make sure we're prepared to have people come on the trails and go to the sensitive areas," said Jeff Mikulina, director of the Sierra Club of Hawai'i.

Because no one keeps numbers on all segments of niche markets, it is unclear if efforts to develop niche marketing are boosting overall visitor counts.

But winners of the tourism authority and county grants are being required to report on the economic impact of their programs, which should yield better numbers over time.

What is clear is Hawai'i has a ways to go before it makes the list of the top states visited by travelers with interests in history and culture.

According to the Travel Industry Association, California, Texas and New York lead the list while Hawai'i is not even among the top 10.

Promoting the nontraditional visitor activities is one of the aims of niche associations such as the Hawaii Wellness Tourism Association and the Hawaii Ecotourism Association. Members of the groups see considerable opportunity for Hawai'i.

"Wellness tourism is reputed to be the fastest growing area of the travel industry," said Laura Crites, founder of the Hawaii Wellness Tourism Association. "It's a multi-million dollar industry."

Silverman has already been sold on Hawai'i's edu-tourism. He said he wouldn't have opted for Hawai'i if it weren't for the UH tour.

Now he's planning another trip next summer but said he will only make it Hawai'i if he can participate in the program again.

"We got to experience Hawai'i like few tourists ever do," Silverman said.

Reach Kelly Yamanouchi at 535-2470, or at kyamanouchi@honoluluadvertiser.com.