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Competing for dollars
Several states attract more
visitor spending than Hawaii does
While Hawaii placed in the top five states with the highest spending by international visitors, it didn't make the top 10 list for domestic spending, according to a recent national tourism study.
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Hawaii did not make the list of states where domestic travelers spent the most money. The top three states for domestic spending were California ($58 billion), Florida ($40.6 billion) and Texas ($31.2 billion). These rankings, released last week, are based on the most current comparable data available for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The rankings aren't much of a surprise; that's where they've been for quite some time, said Marsha Wienert, Gov. Linda Lingle's tourism liaison. If Hawaii wants to climb higher on the travel association's list of states with the highest visitor spending, the state will have to concentrate on attracting visitors who stay longer and spend more money, she said.
"Our biggest challenge to growth is that we are a remote destination with limited hotel inventory," Wienert said.
While increased business to Hawaii is good news for the state, it also illustrates the quandary that tourism officials face. Hawaii's hot tourism market, which has made it difficult to book rooms this summer, caused Japanese travel to be slower than expected during obon -- traditionally one of the strongest arrival times. It also stymied domestic travelers.
If it's too difficult to visit Hawaii or get quality rooms, the state might lose higher-spending tourists to competitors like Florida, Mexico, the Caribbean, cruise ships or emerging Asian destinations like China, Korea and Thailand, said Sharon Weiner, board member of the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
During times when Hawaii can't bring more people to the islands, increasing tourism is all about targeting people who will spend more, said Frank Haas, vice president of marketing for the HTA.
"We're not necessarily looking for rich people -- we want to bring people here that want an active experience," Haas said. "The overall objective is to increase visitor expenditures."
The state has launched a marketing push geared to appeal to high-spending populations such as baby boomers, wedding/honeymoon couples, business and incentive travelers, and those seeking arts and culture, Haas said.
To compete for these higher-spending segments, tourism marketers need to understand their habits, know what Web sites they visit, figure out what publications they read and find out how they work with travel agents, said Jay Talwar, vice president of marketing for the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau.
"There's a real push to understand the center of the bull's eye," Talwar said.
That same approach has helped Florida mature as a destination and rise to the top of the visitor spending lists, said Tom Flanigan, Visit Florida spokesman.
"People have a renewed interest in destinations that have a unique sense of place," Flanigan said, adding that Florida has launched a "Downtowns and Smalltowns" campaign to keep the state's tourism product fresh and increase visitor spending.
"You guys are operating under a bunch of the same challenges," Flanigan said. "People are absolutely fascinated with the traditional icons, but there is more to Hawaii than grass skirts, pineapple and poi."
www.hawaii.gov/tourism