Guests learn to dance Tahitian-style from a student performer at the Polynesian Cultural Center. The center has been Hawaii's top paid tourist attraction since 1977.
Visitor sites see
surge in bookingsRising tourism numbers
result in brisk business at
existing attractions and
renewed investment
With domestic visitor arrivals hitting record highs, investors and the state are looking with renewed interest at the once-dormant activities and attractions market.
Healthy attractions
The recovery of visitor arrivals to the state has been good news for Hawaii's activities companies and attractions. Among them:>> Atlantis Adventures submarine tours: Business has jumped 21 percent year-over-year to $32 million in revenues.
>> Islands of Paradise Inc.: Back on track with a Hawaiian theme park planned for Kapolei, a project thwarted by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
>> Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau: Activities and attractions are the primary focus of the bureau's fall marketing campaign, "Come Experience."
Existing operators are seeing traffic jump, new businesses are getting into the game and projects that had been lingering are back on.
A group of local and mainland entertainment executives formed Islands of Paradise Inc. in 1997 and had planned to invest $150 million to bring a Hawaiian theme park to Kapolei, but the project was derailed by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"After 9/11 the Wall Street money dried up in Hawaii," said Kathleen Kagawa, president of Islands of Paradise. But as Hawaii's visitor numbers have improved, that climate has changed.
Mainland and foreign investors began to show renewed interest in the state last year, Kagawa said, and things have heated up further this year.
"We've secured most of our funding and are closer to building than ever before," she said. It might not be long before the 100-acre Hawaiian theme park, to be located next to the Kapolei Business Park, brings a roller coaster, rides and more visitors to West Oahu.
And Islands of Paradise is not alone.
"Times are good for Hawaii's attractions," said Ron Williams, president and chief executive of Atlantis Adventures. Hawaii's submarine tour business is up 21 percent year-over-year with $32 million in revenues, he said.
The rebounding tourism market has significantly increased the number of activities and attractions doing business in Hawaii, said Toni Marie Davis, executive director of the Activities and Attractions Association of Hawaii.
"We've now got more than 1,000 companies in the state, contributing around $2 billion in sales a year to the state's economy," Davis said. "And that number is growing fast as more business owners are finding ways to tap into Hawaii's niche markets."
Online reservation and booking programs combined with more marketing have increased business, Davis said.
"In May there were $739,000 worth of pre-bookings," she said. "We've discovered that people will book their air, hotel and cars; and if you give them the tools, they'll also book their activities."
More people from the U.S. mainland visited Hawaii last month than in any other May on record, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. That domestic growth, combined with a surge in travelers from Japan, led to a 17 percent increase in total visitors last month from a year ago, the state reported this week.
Spending from some of these visitors has landed in the coffers of the USS Missouri Memorial. The attraction has retired its debt and expects to welcome its 2 millionth visitor by next month, said Lee Collins, vice president of sales and marketing for the USS Missouri Memorial Association.
Increased tourism also has bolstered visitors at the Polynesian Cultural Center, which has been Hawaii's No. 1 paid tourist attraction since 1977, said Alfred Grace, vice president of sales and marketing at the attraction.
The growth of the activities and attractions market is good news for Hawaii because the sector provides a vital role in the tourism mix, enticing first-time visitors from new markets to come to Hawaii and offering repeat visitors another reason to visit, said John Monahan, president and chief executive of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau.
"Activities and attractions bring a Hawaii vacation to life and provide many of the lasting memories for our tourists," he said, adding that the state has begun putting more emphasis on marketing activities and attractions this year, even inviting members of that industry to market their products at travel industry tours alongside wholesalers.
The growing range of activities and attractions also is the primary focus of the HVCB's fall marketing campaign, "Come Experience," which is designed to enhance tourism by showcasing more than sun and surf, Monahan said.
Activities and Attractions Association of Hawaii
www.hawaiifun.org
