Andrew Jones and Patti Nugent, exchange students from Boston, enjoy the hot sunny day at Kapi'olani Beach. The state's tourism industry hopes to attract more visitors from the eastern Mainland. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

"It's a lot more laid back here than I thought," said Connie Smith, 48, walking along Kuhio Beach. "We're not on a schedule here. We're just taking our time."

Seeing O'ahu's North Shore, famous for its world-class waves, has enticed the couple to come back in December, when the winter's north swells arrive.

"We plan on coming back," said Jerry Smith, 45, who took his first surfing lesson this week in Waikiki and is already hooked.

"We'd better," his wife quickly added.

The Smiths are the kind of visitors the state's tourism industry is targeting: travelers from the U.S. East who tend to stay longer and spend more money.

Many of these Americans — from the states east of the Rockies — have never been to Hawai'i before.

The state is basking in a booming tourism industry, with total visitor arrivals in July up nearly 11 percent from last year. Domestic arrivals by air rose 7.2 percent, making it the best July on record.

The number of U.S. East visitors to Hawai'i in July rose 15.9 percent from the year before to 196,070. They also spent $324.1 million, up 18.1 percent from the year before, staying an average of 10.2 days. The number of U.S. West visitors fell 0.3 percent to 283,300.

"And people intending to travel to Hawai'i (from this market) is certainly growing," said Jay Talwar, vice president of marketing for the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau. "The potential is there."

The biggest challenge facing the state's tourism industry is convincing these travelers that Hawai'i, while farther away than other exotic destinations such as the Caribbean and Mexico, is worth the 10-hour flight.

HVCB, which promotes the state primarily to North America, devotes 35 percent of its leisure travel marketing budget, which totals about $22 million annually, toward the U.S. East market. By comparison, it directs 30 percent of its budget to the U.S. West market. Part of its nearly $1 million fall campaign, which launched this month, targets specific gateway U.S. East cities through print ads, TV commercials and a Hawaiian music tour.

"You've got to convey that it's worth it to travel this far," said Marsha Wienert, the state's tourism liaison. "It's really a message that we're unique ... It's that perception of being foreign but not."

Reinforcing Hawai'i's image as an exotic destination within the safety of the United States has become an effective tool in attracting the U.S. East market, especially amid threats of terrorism globally. More U.S. East travelers than ever, for example, view Hawai'i as a safe, clean destination that offers unique cultural experiences, according to a recent study by TNS Plog Research.

It has also become a marketing strategy particularly effective with the romance travel market.

Honeymooners, for example, want to go somewhere new, somewhere exotic, said David Liu, chief executive officer of TheKnot.com. While U.S. East travelers frequent the closer Caribbean islands on vacation, they would rather honeymoon somewhere memorable and different. And Hawai'i falls on that list, Liu said.

"They don't want to go somewhere they've been before," he said. "And they don't care about direct flights. That won't determine where they will honeymoon. If they've got it fixed in their minds to go to Kaua'i, they'll go to Kaua'i."

Chadd and Caren Dempsey typically vacation in the Caribbean, Florida or Las Vegas — all of which are closer to their home in Manchester, N.H.

But the newlyweds didn't consider planning their honeymoon there.

"It's a lot more beautiful here than in the Caribbean," said Caren Dempsey, 28, lounging in a beach chair on Kuhio Beach yesterday. "It's by far much prettier."

"It's like being in the states but so far away," added Chadd Dempsey, 29. "I can't say we wouldn't be back."

The variety of activities, scenery and events Hawai'i has to offer has become another selling point for the Islands, especially with regard to U.S. East visitors, who tend to be active and interested in Hawai'i's cultural diversity, said Frank Haas, HTA marketing director.

Showcasing the state's diversity has been part of the marketing strategy of Hilton Hotels Corp., which pushes festivals, sporting events and cultural activities including the Sony Open, NFL Pro Bowl and the Honolulu Festival. So far, both the Hilton Hawaiian Village and the Hilton Waikoloa Village have seen significant growth of visitors from the U.S. East market.

"Hawai'i always ranks very high as a dream destination," said Roberta Rinker-Ludloff, vice president of marketing for Hilton Hawai'i. "There's high desire for people, especially on the East Coast, to come to Hawai'i. Our challenge has been to convert that desire to intent."

What makes marketing Hawai'i to any American market difficult is a recent shift in lifestyle that includes longer hours at work and less leisure time, said Peter Yesawich, travel and tourism expert from Orlando, Fla.

Many people in the U.S. East feel they can't afford the cost and time off from work to make the trip to Hawai'i.

Last year the most popular form of vacationing among Americans was the four-day weekend getaway, Yesawich said. Nearly 60 percent of all vacations taken last year were long weekend jaunts.

"The working population on the Mainland continues to tell us they feel they have less vacation time," Yesawich said. "And so they tend to look for destinations closer to home."

What has helped the tourism industry here in luring U.S. East visitors is the growth in direct flights from gateway cities, such as Chicago and Atlanta, to the Islands. This has made the trip to Hawai'i more convenient — and easier to sell.

TNS Plog Research study showed that 13 percent of long-distance travelers from the U.S. East are planning trips to Hawai'i in the next two years, which is up from 11 percent in 2003.

While still lower than numbers for Florida (32 percent), the Caribbean (17 percent), California (18 percent) and Europe (18 percent), the increase is significant because it shows distance is becoming much less of a factor, Haas said.

"The airlines are giving us a great opportunity," Wienert said. "It's now a couple of movies, a couple of drinks, something to eat and then you're having a mai tai on the beach."

Terrie Martin said a Hawai'i vacation was more affordable than she thought it would be. The 36-year-old office manager from Cincinnati bought a 10-day vacation package for $876, which included airfare and hotel accommodations in Waikiki. She could even pay for the trip in installments.

"That's cheap," she said after snapping a photo of the Duke Kahanamoku statue in Waikiki. "It's just so beautiful here."

All she wanted to do was hang out at the beach. Instead, she's shopping, going on a sunset dinner cruise and seeing Don Ho.

"You can't come to Hawai'i and not see Don Ho," she said with a smile.

And that's what makes Hawai'i so unique, industry stakeholders say.

"It gives you a lot of choices within one destination," said Keith Vieira, senior vice president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Hawai'i. "It's a money-back-guarantee type of place. You'll always have a good time."