Canadians, stay home?
No way, eh

It seems that few Canadians have heeded the pleas of a Hawaiian activist to stay home rather than to visit Hawaii, at least so far.

Some weeks ago, the militant Hawaiian leader, Haunani-Kay Trask, was quoted in this space as having told a Canadian newspaper that Canadians are not wanted in Hawaii. "If 10 Canadians decided not to come to Hawaii because of something I said, I'd be very happy," Trask said. "I don't want people to come here. I'm sick of it."

The state government has reported, however, that Canadians who come to Hawaii stay longer than other people, including Japanese, and spend more. Our neighbors to the northeast averaged 12.24 days here during 2000 and spent an average of $1,793 each. Canadian friends say their compatriots tend to go more often to the Neighbor Islands than to stay in Oahu, which some feel has become too geared to Japanese tourism.

This writer, who once played for a Canadian hockey team in Japan, must confess to welcoming the Canadian accents heard here, especially toward the end of winter when cabin fever sets in up north. Not bad, eh?

Richard Halloran

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