Tourist attractions
see fewer visitors
A Hawaii trade group says
By Russ Lynch
Japanese tourists are more
price conscious
Star-BulletinHawaii's tourist attractions are seeing fewer people and those who do come are less willing to pay the full price, an industry group said today.
Tourist officials say a big factor is the drop-off in the number of Japanese visitors to Hawaii, coupled with a shift in their buying practices. Squeezed by the declining of the yen, today's Japanese tourists typically book fewer vacation activities in advance and try to bargain for the best prices after they arrive.
Issuing their latest report, covering activities in May, the Hawaii Attractions Association said gross revenues at the Oahu attractions were down 7.4 percent at $13.2 million, a loss of $1 million from May 1997.
The average visitor to the attractions spent $24.38 on the visit, an average that the accounting firm that analyzed the numbers says includes those who had free passes, those who bought the visit as part of a tour and casual walk-ins, for a whole range of prices.
That per capita spending was down 6.3 percent from the previous May, according to Peter M.K. Kaanapu Jr., who runs leisure industry analysis for KPMG Peat Marwick LLP.
The figures are just the bottom-line illustration of what those in the industry see happening every day and it mostly has to do with Japanese tourism falling while the numbers of experienced mainland travelers rise, industry executives say.
In Kona, for example, Atlantis subma-rines has begun offering a short boat trip and a short submarine ride for $39 a head, $40 less than the $79 full tour, said Darrell Metzger, president of Atlantis Adventures, which runs the submarines as well as Sea Life Park and Waimea Valley Adventure Park.
"It's more a spontaneous purchase, aimed at a price range," Metzger said, just like the airlines have offered for years. Lunchtime business can be slow and someone who is willing to go then can get a better deal, he said.
Metzger said the submarine business is considering doing that on Oahu, again largely due to the increasing money-consciousness among Japanese tourists.
"We're adjusting to it. We're somewhat reacting to the fact that they're not willing to pay the full price," he said.
Japanese travel to Hawaii is likely to stay down through the summer. A survey by Japan Travel Bureau Inc., Japan's biggest travel company, shows Japanese bookings to Hawaii for trips through June and July is down 3.1 percent.
Hawaii is expected to see 12,000 fewer Japanese in the two months than last year at the same time, JTB said.
Counting heads as tourist passed through their gates, the Hawaii Attractions Association members tallied an attendance total of 701,278 in May, down 5.2 percent from May 1997, Kaanapu said. Americans have moved into a bigger share with westbound visitors making up 56.4 percent of the attractions numbers, compared with 50 percent in the previous May, he said.
Association members include the Aloha Tower Marketplace, Bishop Museum, the submarine business, manufacturing-retail operators such as Hilo Hattie's and the Maui Divers' Jewelry Design Center, to Polynesian Cultural Center, the Arizona Memorial and others.
