Posted on: Tuesday, September 23, 2003

EDITORIAL
Niche tourism is a matter of survival

As a beach-bumming destination, Hawai'i faces stiff competition. Tourists can get spectacular scenery and probably more bang for their buck in Bali, Thailand and Costa Rica, just to name a few of our rivals.

The bottom line is, today's sophisticated travelers — a market we apparently hope to capture — are clamoring for more active or more meaningful vacation experiences, and are willing to splash out to satisfy that yen.

To survive in the global tourism market, Hawai'i must expand the state's image as a place to grow and learn. Consider our current status in niche tourism.

A study by the Travel Industry Association and Smithsonian Magazine found that 81 percent of U.S. adults who traveled in the past year sought cultural or historical activities.

As it is, Hawai'i doesn't even rank among the top 10 states visited by travelers seeking history and culture. California, Texas and New York top that list.

Fortunately, tourism officials are looking for ways to get Hawai'i a piece of the action. The Hawai'i Tourism Authority and the state's counties are offering businesses and organizations $1.6 million in annual grants to develop eco-tourism, cultural tourism, agri-tourism, health and wellness tourism, edu-tourism and techno-tourism.

We urge enterprises to seize this opportunity, because if our visitor industry falls behind the times, we're in big trouble.

Granted, it's a lot easier to attract culture vultures if you're Florence, Paris or London. But that doesn't mean Hawai'i doesn't have a lot to offer. Niche tourism is already being practiced by such institutions as UH-Hilo, whose Hawaiian EDventure program offers customized tours on astronomy, food and quilting, among other pursuits.

But as we attempt to cater to the fantasies of tourists, it's important to remain true to the spirit of Hawai'i.

Globalization has brought a certain sameness to many of the world's cities. Sophisticated tourists want to get away from that. They also know the difference between authenticity and faux culture. That's why we have to work with what we've got. Our strengths lie in the Islands' indigenous culture, ethnic diversity, natural environment and East-West outlook and cuisine.

We cannot expect to win the battle for tourist dollars if we don't get in on the niche tourism game.

But at the same time, let's keep it real.