Char travel agency closing after 71 years

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

Char Tour & Travel Service, Hawai'i's first commercial travel agency, which has been run by the Char family for 71 years, will close its doors for good July 1.

Virginia Char Wong said health problems among several family members led to her decision to call it quits. Wong's father, Yew Char, founded Char Tour in 1933 and was a pioneer in the local travel business.

Wong said the decision to cease operations was very difficult. But with her son, husband and herself recovering from various ailments, Wong, 76, said it "was time to let go."

"It's hard, but I have to," Wong said. "I enjoy it. I like to see people happy, enjoying themselves."

She said the company will honor tours that were booked before the decision to end operations.

Yew Char, the son of immigrants from China, was born in 1893 in Kohala on the Big Island. He got the travel bug at a young age and "ran away" to see the world, Wong said.

He went to photography school in Chicago and returned to Hawai'i to open a studio. In 1927, Char was the first person of Chinese ancestry to be elected to the Territorial Legislature.

In 1933, he organized his first tour, a trip to the Chicago World's Fair. Over the years, Char Tour has taken countless people on tours of Asia, Europe and the Mainland.

The agency was one of the first to offer charter packages to the Las Vegas California Hotel and Casino, a popular gathering place for Island residents.

But it wasn't all fun.

In 1937, a group headed by Char was on board the Dollar liner President Hoover when a Chinese plane dropped several bombs on the ship as it approached Shanghai. Luckily, Wong said, no one was seriously injured.

Char died in 1982, but by then other family members had taken over the company. When large travel agencies began to offer charter packages to Las Vegas, Char Tour focused on Asia and Europe, Wong said.

When word got out that Char Tour was closing, Wong said, there was one offer to purchase the company. She declined.

"They wanted me to stay in, but I really thought it was time to retire," Wong said. She began to notify loyal customers and friends earlier this month about her decision.

"A lot of people have called and said they were so disappointed," Wong said. "Occasionally I'll take some very special trips, but that's about it."

She said she doesn't expect the company's six employees to have any problems finding jobs at other agencies.

Reach Curtis Lum at 525-8025 or culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.