PR push key
to attract Japanese,
executive says

Keith Vieira, Starwood VP,
was part of the tourism panel's trip

---

By Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.com

A strong public relations campaign will still be needed to encourage Japanese to travel to the islands, but the mission to Japan this week by Gov. Ben Cayetano and other island leaders helped, according to one executive on the trip.

"They think the right thing to do was to have the governor come and meet with the people and the officials and tell them it's OK to travel," said Keith Vieira, vice president and director of Hawaii operations for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.

But there is still a high level of concern, not only about the appropriateness of vacationing right now and about airline safety but about possible travel disruptions and delays that could leave Japanese travelers unable to get back to work on time.

The Japanese people are "deeply affected by what happened" Sept. 11, said Vieira, who is also a board member of the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Vieira returned to Hawaii slightly earlier than other members on the trip.

"There is an extreme level of sympathy on their part and concern for the American people and what we went through," he said.

Vieira said Americans seem to have "moved on" and begun to put the tragedy behind them but the Japanese haven't reached that stage yet and will need some nudging.

"The Japanese feel a strong affinity for Hawaii and they want to come," so the message that the best way they can help America is to travel will change their minds, but it is going to take a continuing public relations campaign, Vieira said.

"The governor and the former governors (John Waihee and George Ariyoshi) who are widely known in Japan, and the mayors and other officials who went on the mission made an impression. Press coverage was strong. Some 100 journalists attended one function where famed sumo wrestlers from Hawaii joined the officials to endorse the message of aloha," Vieira said.

"It was the first step that had to be done," he said of the mission.

What will help now is getting lots of video clips on Japanese television showing Japanese enjoying themselves in peace and security in Hawaii, Vieira said.