Snowbirds could help
By S. Stanley Katz
Hawaii’s economyQuestion: Where do you go to find snowbirds?
Answer: California, Arizona and Florida.
Visit California, Florida, Arizona and other places on the mainland where the winters are warm and you'll find lots of snowbirds -- mostly senior citizens who want to get away from the snow and cold of their year-round habitats.
The number of these snowbirds has increased dramatically during the past decade as the U.S. and Canadian populations have more and more seniors who live longer, are more active and can afford to go south for the winter months.
These northern snowbirds typically spend three or four months each year in their winter quarters, and spend a substantial amount of money for accommodations, food, clothing, entertainment and services.
For the local economy, this means more jobs, income and revenues. Moreover, once they find a place, these snowbirds tend to come back year after year. So their support for the local economy is continuing, and not just one time.
Little wonder that California, Florida and Arizona (among others) have organized special efforts and devote substantial resources to attract winter snowbirds to their states.
Hawaii has much to offer these snowbirds -- sunny days, spectacular beaches, golf courses, breathtaking scenery, and warm and friendly people. But relatively few snowbirds think of Hawaii as a place to spend their winters.
While Hawaii's business and government communities devote a good deal of time and money to pursuing the tourist trade, no commensurate, organized effort is made to attract snowbirds.
So the snowbirds mostly go elsewhere -- where a special welcome mat is out for them -- and Hawaii's economy loses out.
Snowbirds are known to travel long distances and to cross oceans to get to their winter quarters. By the thousands, for example, they travel from Canada and England each winter to Sarasota, Fla.
Hawaii does in fact attract a small, loyal flock of snowbirds from the mainland and Canada each winter. Neither the high cost of getting here nor the "paradise premium" deters them.
But there are not enough of them, and there could be many more. Perhaps it is time for the business community and government to look into this neglected area of the economy and consider what it would take to bring more snowbirds to Hawaii.
A small task force might be organized for this work. It could start by listening to and learning from Hawaii's present small flock of snowbirds (the tourist bureau can surely find them), considering such factors as what brings them here, what they like and what they don't like about wintering in Hawaii.
A second task might be able to find out what other states and localities do to attract snowbirds, what works and what doesn't, and what Hawaii might do along similar lines.
The effort might even go further to formulate a plan to attract snowbirds. It might include, for example, developing an inventory of the housing that snowbirds could find by cost and location, and arranging special snowbird travel packages with the airlines, discount coupons for restaurants and merchandise, and special deals for snowbirds' public transportation and car rentals.
While snowbirds would not be a magic bullet for the Hawaiian economy, their expenditures would surely help create jobs, income and revenues at a time when they are badly needed.
S. Stanley Katz is a visiting fellow at the East-West Center.