Hula dancers, Hawai'i musicians and local food could offer Washington's power elite and the international media a glimpse of Barack Obama's Island birthplace when he's sworn in as America's 44th president on Jan. 20.

Hawai'i's tourism industry needs to organize a massive show of aloha — especially while visitor arrivals are down and the local economy sputters, U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie said yesterday.

"In the middle of the snow and cold of Washington, we need to work out something where Hawai'i will be a very attractive feature of the inauguration," Abercrombie said. "I expect them to do this or the Hawai'i Tourism Authority is going to be in need of wholesale revision. Why they haven't got on it already is beyond me."

Since March, the Hawai'i State Society of Washington, D.C., has been planning what it calls the first Hawai'i Inaugural Ball on Jan. 20 at that city's five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel.

The group said it has booked Island entertainers Raiatea Helm, Kohala, Eddie Kamae, and the Aunty Genoa Ohana Ensemble, plus a Washington-area group with Island roots called The Aloha Boys.

The 400-member society of Hawai'i expatriates and people who have never visited the Islands has already sold 400 tickets costing $200 each, said Maui-born Kohono Mossman, who works at the Pentagon and is chairman of the Hawai'i Inaugural Ball.

Following Obama's electoral vote landslide, Mossman's cell phone voicemail was full of requests for some of the remaining 300 tickets.

"It's been crazy," he said.

Guests at the ball are encouraged to wear either black tie or native attire.

"It's not just Hawaiians we're appealing to," said Mossman, a Kamehameha Schools graduate. "The Polynesian community, Samoans, Tahitians — everybody from Asia-Pacific has ties to Hawai'i."

State tourism officials, meanwhile, said yesterday that they have not been working on plans linked to the inauguration, although they liked Abercrombie's ideas.

"I have not had any discussion with anyone concerning it, but it does sound like an opportunity that's worth consideration," said Kelvin Bloom, chairman of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority.

The board meets today, and although the issue is not on the agenda, "perhaps this is something that could be brought up informally," Bloom said.

John Monahan, president and CEO of the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau, said, "We think it would be fabulous, also. It's only one day into this. All of this is up to President-elect Obama in terms of the tone he wants to set for his birth state up to his inauguration and even after. ... But clearly, we would be happy to get the Hawai'i message out."

WEIGHING PRESENCE

During President Bush's second inauguration, Hawai'i was represented by a parade float and a Virginia-based hula halau, said Marsha Wienert, Hawai'i's state tourism liaison.

"It was really cold, I can tell you that," Wienert said of the weather.

Tourism officials helped the halau get advice from the Old Lahaina Luau, which had appeared three times in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Their advice: "No. 1, you've got to stay warm," Wienert said. "They make flesh-colored long underwear. Be sure and get the long underwear."

Bush's inauguration was the first time that a presidential inauguration had a Hawai'i feel, as far as Wienert knows.

Something much larger needs to be carefully considered in terms of cost and effectiveness, Wienert said.

"There definitely should be some presence for Hawai'i," she said. "It's an opportune time for us to shine, but at what level? You'd have to get all the facts first and weigh everything. Your chances of getting on TV are slim to none. We would need to know what markets are involved. With any marketing decision, you have to look at the return on investment and what the impact should be."

Abercrombie offered to run interference on a number of moves, including producing a Hawai'i-themed inaugural ball; organizing airlines to arrange charter flights for Hawai'i residents to Washington; arranging hotels that would house them; and booking entertainers and others to show off the aloha spirit to the rest of the world.

EXPENSES, TICKETS

The HTA needs to set aside $500,000 or more for such an effort, Abercrombie said.

He said it's embarrassing that the HTA is paying $291,000 to its former chief, Rex Johnson, who was forced to resign after it was discovered that he had used his state computer to forward pornographic, racist and sexist e-mails.

"Perhaps they can do something useful, this tourism authority, instead of paying off Mr. Johnson, which is nonsense and beyond me," Abercrombie said. "They need to spend their money to promote Hawai'i — and what better way than a massive Hawai'i promotion for the inauguration? There will be millions of people watching and every single news organization in the world is going to be there."

Andy Winer, Obama's Hawai'i state director, has been barraged with calls from people trying to get tickets to the inauguration.

"It's only the first day and a number of people are starting to talk about going up there," Winer said. "I've got my plane ticket."

Panda Travel arranged special travel, hotel and game ticket packages for fans when the University of Hawai'i football team played in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans last year.

Yesterday, Panda Travel also was getting inquiries about the inauguration.

"So far, people are just asking," said Kehau Amorin, director of business development and client relations for Panda Travel.

"The cheapest flights are around $600-something to $750 roundtrip just for airfare for a one-week stay in Washington."

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann already has his inauguration plans set because he's scheduled to be in Washington for the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

"No question, this is one inauguration I'm not going to miss," Hannemann said. "It's a dream of a lifetime."

But he was cautious about Hawai'i opportunities for the week of inauguration festivities.

"There are probably strict rules for what's going to be permissible," he said. "We just can't say this is what we're going to do. The sooner you submit your proposal, the better off we're going to be."

He also cautioned Hawai'i residents about booking flights and rooms without tickets to the various events, especially the inauguration itself.

"Those tickets are going to be very, very precious," he said. "It will be difficult for people just to go there. There's nothing worse than being there and you can't get into any event. You're probably better off watching it on television."

But Kaua'i resident Jim Jennings, who spent 40 years in Washington politics and helped plan Ronald Reagan's inauguration, said it's critical for Hawai'i to honor its native son on the day that he's sworn into office.

"There definitely needs to be a Hawai'i expression to it," Jennings said. "I would expect Hawai'i would want to use that moment in time to draw a lot of national attention to it and remind the world what a unique state and place that Hawai'i is. I can't imagine our own visitor industry not being on top of that already."