FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Tourists returned to shore Sunday after a sail on the Na Hoku II catamaran at Waikiki Beach. The Oahu Visitors Bureau said today it is focusing on luring back Japanese travelers.

Oahu Visitors
Bureau to spend
$750,000 on Japan

Japan arrivals to Oahu are
down 16.8% so far this year

---

Star-Bulletin Staff

The Oahu Visitors Bureau announced today it is spending $750,000 this year, one-fourth of its budget, to win back the island's Japan tourism market, which has dwindled in the face of new travel trends and the country's economic doldrums.

Promotions this year included:

>> Arranging for 1,000 McDonald's restaurants in Kanto to show 20-minute Oahu scenes six times a day from July 18-31. The promotion reached an estimated 1.5 million to 2 million people.

>> Coordinating a 45-minute hula performance at the Sapporo Summer Festival in July, an event attended by 2,500 consumers and shown on the evening news.

>> Coordinating a popular Tokyo fireworks event in August that included a concert by ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro and a Polynesian revue.

>> Running a 10-minute weekly "Discover Oahu" segment on the Inter FM "Wiki Wiki" radio program, broadcast to the Kanto and Nagoya area.

The visitors bureau plans to spend an additional $750,000 on Japan marketing next year.

Hawaii had 646,000 fewer Japanese visitors in 2001 than it did in 1997, the banner year for Japan arrivals, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Because of its large exposure to the Japanese market, Oahu's overall visitor count fell 14 percent to 4.3 million in 2001 from 5 million visitors in 1997.

So far this year, Japanese arrivals to Oahu are down 16.8 percent.

"Despite increasing competition and the tough economic times in Japan, Oahu remains a viable travel destination for the Japanese," said Les Enderton, executive director of the Oahu Visitors Bureau. "We feel that the value of the Oahu product, along with the diverse spectrum of experiences from shopping, dining, activities and attractions to culture and the arts, meets the needs of the markets we are targeting in Japan."