Gov. Linda Lingle and Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona will be separately heading to five Asian nations next week to talk up Hawaii as a travel destination just as the state's tourism industry suffers a serious downturn.

Lingle, who has made energy independence a top goal of her second and last term in office, also will be conferring with government officials on renewable energy and technology opportunities.

"It is critical that we do all we can to reach out to our traditional visitor base in Japan, as well as emerging markets such as China and Korea, to encourage people to visit Hawaii," Lingle said in a statement.

The trips mark the fifth visit to Asia that Lingle has made since she first became governor in 2003. Aiona has made two previous trips to Asia.

Attorney General Mark Bennett will be in charge of the state while the governor and lieutenant governor are away, said Lingle's spokesman, Russell Pang.

Both Lingle and Aiona leave on Tuesday. The governor flies to Bali, Indonesia, where she will attend a meeting of the board of directors of the East-West Center, a Honolulu-based research organization, and speak at an international conference entitled "Building an Asia-Pacific Community: Unity in Diversity."

She later travels to Taipei, Taiwan, to confer with government officials on renewable energy, and to persuade China Airlines executives and travel industry leaders to increase the number of seats on flights or to add actual flights to Hawaii.

Her last stop will be in Shanghai, China, where Lingle will participate in the China International Travel Mart, a large industry convention where the state and travel firms in the state will be sharing a booth. She will meet with tourism authorities and business leaders, as well as airline executives.

Among those traveling with Lingle will be Ted Liu, the director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism; Lloyd Unebasami, interim president of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, and executives from Hawaii Tourism Taiwan and China.

Aiona's first stops are in Seoul and Jeju, South Korea. He is to discuss with executives from Korean Airlines on increasing seats or flights to Hawaii, and with Asiana Airlines on resuming service to the islands. The impetus for those discussions is the federal government decision to stop requiring South Koreans to get visas before they visit the U.S. starting Nov. 17.

He also will speak at an annual Korea-Pacific trade and economic conference on Jeju Island in anticipation of next year's meeting in Honolulu.

Afterward, Aiona will travel to Tokyo to confer with airline executives and travel industry leaders on increasing visitor arrivals and air service.

Accompanying him will be state tourism liaison Marsha Wienert.

The trips will be paid for in a number of ways. The East West Center will cover Lingle's stay in Bali, and the Taiwanese government will cover her visit there. Funds from the state transportation department's airports division will be used to pay for her stop in China, and Aiona's visits to Korea and Japan.

The state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism will contribute money for a portion of Aiona's stop in Korea. The two agencies also will provide funds to cover Liu and Weinert's travel costs.