TOKYO -- Christmas is just another work day here, even though Santas patrol the Ginza and the illumination along Omotesando Street shines right up there with Honolulu City Lights. Restoring
visitor cheerEven my Buddha-worshipping in-laws have a red-ribboned, pine needle wreath nailed to their front door.
For the 20,000 Japanese who spend Christmas day in Hawaii every year, it's a chance to escape the hometown cold and celebrate the arrival of their annual December bonus. But more and more are trying to figure out what to do besides suntanning and shopping. And they haven't been coming up with answers.
"Hawaii hasn't changed a lot, so there aren't many new things to do," says Minako Wilder, a 34-year-old translator.
That's a big reason why Japanese are heading elsewhere on holiday, and why Hawaii's economy is on vacation. Something's gotta change, or the numbers will only get worse. And the fix isn't as "out of our hands" as officials might lead you to believe.
Yes, the exchange rate plays a major role in the serious downturn in business from Japan. When the yen weakens, spending power is reduced. For example, a pair of $100 Nikes that took 7,900 yen to buy four years ago would cost 11,500 yen today.
But that's only part of the equation, and the new Hawaii Tourism Authority should listen to what's being said at the source.
"Besides the currency fluctuation, it's basically boredom and competition from other visitor destinations," says Mike Morizumi about Hawaii's tourism drop. He's a securities analyst who's followed the flow of travel trends during his 16 years in Japan.
"Hawaii needs new facilities, maybe like a Sea World," he says. "When Japanese don't have anything to do, they're very bad. They need some sort of concrete attraction rather than something abstract."
"I wanted to go to Hawaii this past summer, but my husband didn't agree," said insurance company worker Kiyomi Kunimine. "He likes horse races and because France had a great Japanese horse champion at that time we went to Europe."
What the industry should do, says Nao Ishii, a college student, is "create a new image of Hawaii, showing history and culture. What are the real roots of the people who live there?"
Kazu Oki agrees that promotion needs to be refocused. "If it's 'just come to Hawaii' it's not that big a meaning anymore," explains the 39-year-old foreign exchange broker.
Here's what needs to be done:
Highlight truly historic day trips, like a visit to Kamehameha the Great's birthsite in Kohala on the Big Island. That'll turn on visitors more than a pageant of the long canoes in Laie.
In other words, say the people whom the tourism industry covets most, you don't have to reinvent Hawaii. Just revitalize the marketing of paradise.
Dalton Tanonaka is a veteran print and broadcast
journalist who's worked in Hong Kong, Japan, the
mainland and Hawaii. He can be reached by
e-mail at tanonaka@aol.com