Isle tourism officials
seek state office
in China -- legallyThe isles' presence in the country
now has a variety of drawbacks
Hawaii tourism officials have had a presence in China for many years, but their efforts to tap a lucrative Asian travel market have been set back -- they aren't totally legal.
When the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau lost the contract to market Hawaii tourism in Asia to Marketing Garden Ltd., the state's Beijing office lost its foothold, said Marsha Wienert, Gov. Linda Lingle's tourism liaison.
Big Market
China, a country of 1.3 billion people, sent 38,923 visitors to Hawaii in 2002. While the market represented less than 1 percent of Hawaii's total visitors days in 2002, China has been forecasted to have 100 million outbound tourists by 2020, according to the World Tourism Organization.
"We have a presence there, but we can't legally do business," Wienert said, adding that while Hawaii still has an office in Beijing, its operations need to be legitimized if the state wants to continue its presence in China.
Licensing would enable Hawaii to work directly with Chinese government agencies, airlines, tour operators and other businesses to develop tourism between the People's Republic of China and the state, Wienert said.
Without a license, Hawaii can't directly market to the public and has to use a go-between to advertise itself in newspapers, on TV or on the radio, she said.
"China is the fastest growing country in the world, but it is still Communist-controlled and the government wields a big stick," Wienert said. "You have to do business in certain ways that are dictated by that government."
For the past six months, the state has been aggressively trying to reach an agreement with the Chinese National Tourism Administration to get a business license similar to the one awarded to the state of Nevada, a prime competitor for this tourist market. Nevada received the license prior to the opening of its Beijing office on June 11.
Nevada is the only U.S. state to operate a tourism office in China and the only U.S. tourism entity to have an office licensed by the Chinese government, said Chris Chrystal, media relations manager for Nevada's tourism agency.
"It was a long process and it wasn't easy," Chrystal said, adding that licensing took more than a year.
"We really tried to show the Chinese tourism industry that we want their business," Chrystal said. "We would imagine that other states will eventually want to get a foothold in that market, too."
Hawaii officials, business executives, and some of the state's top entertainers are making a concerted effort to court new business and foster cultural exchanges in China. The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism took a delegation of more than 40 people to China last week to meet with government officials and business executives in Shanghai, Beijing, and Tianjin.
Lt. Governor James R. "Duke" Aiona Jr. will join the delegation for a portion of the six-day trip to lead a series of discussions with Chinese officials and to talk about obtaining licensing from the China tourism administration.
"We're very hopeful that we will get the designation to have an official office in China," Wienert said, adding that if the state doesn't get licensed during this trip, officials will try again.
Opening a China tourism office will open doors for Hawaii in the country with the world's fastest-growing economy and better enable the state to achieve tourism-building goals in Asia, said Ted Liu, director of DBEDT.
"We can't afford to ignore this market," Liu said. "Chinese travelers are already the No. 2 spenders in our travel market and we haven't even gotten the mother lode of potential visitors."
Visitors from China spend the second most per day after Japan. Chinese tourists spend an average of $176.17 daily in Hawaii, according to DBEDT.
Opening a legitimate tourism office in China also would be the first step in Hawaii's quest to achieve "approved destination" status from China, which would ease travel for tourists. Mainland Chinese are now allowed to travel in groups for leisure to 28 "approved destinations."
Both Hawaii and Nevada are eager to join the list even though the United States has not applied for the designation, she said.
"We're in our infancy," Wienert said. "It's not just a China issue. It's also a U.S. issue, but as we legitimize our presence in China, we can continue those discussions."
Discussions have become increasingly important as efforts to streamline the visa process have fallen on hard times. In March, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing opened a call center to improve customer service for visa applicants. But Chinese government officials shut it down six weeks later, saying it wasn't operating legally. It has since reopened, Wienert said.
"We still can't get people here because they can't get visas and even when we can, we can't get flights," said Henry Ou, president of the Hawaii Chinese Tourism Association.
About 300,000 to 500,000 Chinese are eligible to go to U.S. mainland each year, and more than half of them probably would like to stop in the Hawaii, but they are deterred by air seat availability and price, Ou said.
The China office would also focus on establishing better air service between China and Hawaii and work on ways to make it easier for legitimate Chinese tourists to obtain U.S. visas, Wienert said.
Visa difficulties and the restrictions on official travel have been a factor in the cancellation of several Hawaii events, she said, including:
>> Training for Chinese hotel managers planned by the University of Hawaii School of Travel Industry ManagementMaking Hawaii more Asian-friendly is important because competition for Asian consumers is becoming increasingly fierce with growing numbers of major destinations worldwide opening tourism marketing offices in China and expanding their marketing programs in Korea, said Michael D. Merner, managing director of Hawaii Tourism Asia, a subsidiary of Marketing Garden Ltd.>> A Pacific Asia Investment Conference
>> An incentive trip for Asian insurance professionals that could have brought up to 5,000 visitors to Hawaii.
Destinations like Guam, Saipan, Bali, Thailand, Europe, the mainland U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam have the potential to dilute Hawaii's market share of the global tourism market, Merner said.
Business, Economic Development & Tourism
www.state.hi.us/dbedt
