"The newly introduced JAL route, Narita-Kona-Honolulu-Narita, makes the connections between Hawaii's islands even more effective and therefore even more accessible to travelers from Japan," Tadashi Yamanouchi, vice president and senior manager of Jalpak Co. Ltd., said in a speech prepared for a symposium today on Japanese travel to Hawaii.
Yamanouchi said that the Japan Airline service, which began in June with three flights a week, coupled with big promotional campaigns for Kona as a destination has been attracting more Japanese to Hawaii in general.
Jalpak began pushing the neighbor islands last year working with Hawaiian Airlines and spent $8.5 million in Japan before the direct Kona flights began, promoting stays that combine neighbor islands with Waikiki.
The result was that 38 percent of Jalpak's Hawaii travelers went to at least one neighbor island last year, a significant increase from 29 percent the previous year, Yamanouchi said.
In the first half of Jalpak's 1996 fiscal year, that increased to 41 percent, he said.
The addition of new island destinations for the Japanese puts Hawaii in a better position to support continued growth in demand from Japan, according to Yamanouchi.
"Because each of the islands has its own distinctive climate, natural characteristics, culture and traditions, Japanese are starting to take a much more detailed interest in becoming more familiar with them.
"From these factors, it is relatively certain that more travelers will be opting for vacation stays of longer duration, resulting in a much wider variety of plans involving islands and accommodations," Yamanouchi said.
At the same time, he noted, Japanese tourists are looking more for quality these days and not necessarily grabbing the cheapest package deals they can find.
As for Waikiki, Jalpak recognizes that it is congested and some Japanese travel companies are offering packages that specifically exclude Waikiki, Yamanouchi said. Jalpak, however, sees Waikiki as a "sure thing" because of its vitality and mingling of cultures and races, he said.
Jalpak first promoted Hawaii in 1966, with the slogan: "Visit that fantastic Hawaii."
Yamanouchi was one of several Japan travel experts scheduled to speak today at the seminar at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental, organized by the Travel Management Club, the Japan Foundation for International Tourism and TCJ Promotions Inc.