THE big truth about growing Hawaii's economy is that there is no single big venture that will turn it around unless our mainstay, tourism, returns to significant annual growth. Opportunities for
economic growthDiversifying away from tourism always has been desirable, but there are no "big booms" in that direction, only small incremental growth opportunities.
Even new businesses generating $100 million a year equal just a 1 per cent rise or fall in our $10 billion tourism industry. We need them, however. Like pennies saved, they can add up.
Where are they? What are they? Mostly they are likely to involve bringing in money from out of state. And often that may mean trying to tap into Asia-Pacific economic growth, sure to be the most vigorous in the world for quite a while to come.
The state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism is taking part in a federal pilot program to "sell" green cards permitting permanent residence. Under it, green cards can be awarded to foreigners investing $500,000 or $1 million (depending on which of two categories the applicant qualifies under) in job-creating enterprises.
The state qualified 26 such investors last year for investing $20 million. They received an estimated 83 green cards for themselves and their kin.
DBEDT expects even more this year. Of last year's investors, 11 came from Taiwan, seven from Hong Kong, and others from Japan and China.
Participating investors can be either active, meaning they are here managing their enterprises, or passive, meaning that they join in limited partnerships but may continue to keep their main residences elsewhere.
In Asia many investors expect to get their money back in three years. Such investors are apt to keep their main chips out there but welcome a green card enough to make at least a passive investment in Hawaii to get it.
Our educational institutions present another opportunity. All by itself, Hawaii Pacific University may bring in 100 million outside dollars. Among its 8,270 students for 1996-97 were 2,219 international students and 2,800 from the mainland U.S., all paying full tuition and some of them spending freely in the community.
The University of Hawaii is bidding to play more of a role. Its community colleges could become a training center for Asians in various trades. They already are helping train ground crews for U.S. airlines and have a maritime training capability, too.
Hawaii's advantages in luring foreign investment are matched by disadvantages. We must find our niche between them. A big disadvantage is that profit opportunities here seldom match those in Asia or even the mainland U.S.
Our pluses are as an attractive place to live and work -- scenic beauty, balmy climate, friendly people, relatively low crime, a multi-cultural background that makes many Asians feel more comfortable here than on the mainland. We have world-class visitor facilities. For some our time zone between the mainland and Asia is a plus. Our living costs are high compared to the mainland, low compared to Asia's big cities.
EDUCATION looks more and more like a way to go for us. Our public schools are often lacking. Our private schools are superb.
Enlarging our existing private schools or creating new ones so we can accept more foreigners deserves a hard look. So must we look at ways to bring more foreigners to the University of Hawaii and the East-West Center in ways that aren't subsidized by local taxpayers. UH has superb strengths in many areas. EWC is groping toward a future in which it must be more self-supporting.
Hawaii Pacific University sells itself at far-flung trade fairs as a fine East-West place to prepare for the globalism sweeping the world. Locally it stresses that education and health present two fine nonpolluting international industries for Hawaii. We need more thinking like that.