Japan’s Pro Bowl
telecast may score
TD for state

The Asian country's own
TV crew may attract additional
tourists and boost Hawaii's economy

---

By B.J. Reyes
Associated Press

Since the NFL first staged the Pro Bowl in Hawaii in 1980, media coverage of the annual all-star game has beamed images of sunny weather and sandy shores all over the country and, over time, the world.

This year marks the first time a television crew from football-crazed Japan will be in Honolulu to broadcast Saturday's game and the accompanying week of events.

The timing couldn't be better.

"The Pro Bowl provides a great boost to our visitor industry every year by featuring Hawaii's natural beauty as the backdrop for an entire week's worth of festivities," Gov. Ben Cayetano said through a spokeswoman. "Showing the Pro Bowl (festivities) in Japan this year is an exciting development that will complement our effort to encourage our friends in Japan to come visit us here."

As the state's tourism-based economy continues its post-Sept. 11 struggle, one critical element in getting back to normal will be the return of Japanese visitors -- who are known to spend up to three times more than their U.S. mainland counterparts.

"It's extremely important to the whole state" to get the Japanese market interested in Hawaii again, said Tony Vericella, president of the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau. "There's a lot of business entities -- and their workers and employees that we want to see get back to work -- who are tied, as their business is, directly or almost entirely to that market.

"Of course, as that market comes back, the faster that will help them."

Since Sept. 11, Hawaii's economy has been mired in a slump leading to waves of layoffs and business closings, and reigniting talk of moving the state's economic base away from tourism toward other avenues, such as gambling.

Lawmakers are dealing with a $330 million shortfall in a two-year $14.6 billion budget passed months before the terrorist attacks.

There have been some signs of economic recovery.

Aloha Airlines last month recalled 70 workers that had been furloughed in the weeks immediately following the terrorist attacks.

Japan Airlines, which cut its flight schedule to Hawaii by 23 percent in October, recently announced it would start adding flights with the expectation of reaching pre-Sept. 11 levels by summer.

But the number of visitors from Japan still remains well below 2000 levels.

Last month, the number of visitors to Hawaii arriving on flights from Japan was down by an average of 26 percent per day compared to the same time a year ago, according to preliminary figures from the state Department of Business, Eco- nomic Development & Tourism.

While still low, those figures were significantly better than the averages for December and November, which showed a downturn of 34 percent and 56 percent per day, respectively, over 2000 levels.

Tourism officials credit at least some of that return to a new marketing strategy adopted since Sept. 11.

The strategy focuses on three key components: highlighting the natural beauty and attractiveness of the islands, heavily promoting special events and advertising merchant discounts and offers that make Hawaii a good economic value, the HVCB's Vericella said.

He added that the state's marketing strategy has always involved a certain degree of niche marketing.

Those niches traditionally includes four key segments: the wedding and honeymoon group, young opinion leaders, families and seniors, Vericella said.

"All of our programs and efforts are each targeted to those different segments," Vericella said. "Of course, the messages each time were different."

But in recent months, sports fans have emerged as a key demographic.

Hawaii plays host to several high-profile events each year, including December's Honolulu Marathon, and PGA Tour events such as the season-opening Mercedes Championship and the Sony Open last month.

At the Sony Open, the Japan-based electronics giant announced an extension of its title sponsorship through 2006, a decision praised by Cayetano.

"Sony's tournament brings in, we estimate 50,000 people. Revenues, maybe $25 million," the governor said. "And we get exposure -- millions of people around the world that we ordinarily couldn't pay for."