Japanese staying
close to home

Hawaii had a slight uptick
in bookings from Japan while
China and Korea posted
double-digit growth

While Hawaii remains a top destination for Japanese visitors, the state is facing greater competition from emerging Asian tourist destinations such as Korea, China and Southeast Asia.

This season's flat holiday numbers tell the story, said Gilbert Kimura, regional sales manager for Japan Airlines. Japan travel is traditionally strong during the New Year season, but from Dec. 28 to Jan. 4 only 3 percent more travelers came to Hawaii from Japan than a year earlier.

However, Japanese travelers increased 28 percent to China, 26 percent to Korea and, before the tsunami, Southeast Asia was showing a 15 percent booking increase, he said.

"Hawaii has beautiful weather, beaches and aloha spirit, but Korea and China are slowly developing into mega-destinations," Kimura said.

That's disappointing for Hawaii retailers that cater to the Japan market, said Dave Erdman, president and chief executive of PacRim Marketing.

"The repeat customers who come at this time are some of Hawaii's best Japanese spenders," Erdman said.

While it's not possible for Hawaii's visitor industry to completely stem the losses, "we just have to try that much harder," said state tourism liaison Marsha Wienert.

"As we moved into the first quarter, we knew it wasn't looking as strong -- that's a concern, especially when last year's first quarter wasn't so great either," Wienert said.

"We have to keep Hawaii name recognition high to capture existing markets and grow additional market share," she said, adding that niche marketing may yield higher results than traditional branding.

The holiday numbers should serve as a wakeup call to Hawaii's visitor industry, since it's the first time this travel season hasn't posted huge gains, except for drops prompted by catastrophic events like 9/11, the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome and the Iraqi war, Kimura said.

"In the past Hawaii was the No. 1 destination, but it's losing to newer destinations where airfare and land costs are cheaper," he said.

The popularity of Korean soap operas in Japan and the growth of shopping opportunities in China have contributed to a rise in travel to these destinations, Kimura said.

After 9/11, Japan visitors also started favoring shorter holidays, which gives destinations closer to their home a greater advantage, he said.

This year's holiday line-up also was unfavorable. With New Year's Day on a Saturday, it shortened the window for travel since most Japanese returned to work by Jan. 4 or 5, Erdman said.

"Spending wasn't exceptional, but it was consistent with the numbers of people that were here," said Paul Kosasa, vice president and district manager of ABC Stores.

Despite disappointing arrivals from the Japan market and an exceptionally rainy New Year's Day, some retailers reported strong sales.

When weather conditions were at their worst, Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center benefited because of its proximity to hotels that cater to the Japan market, said Anne Murata, marketing director for the Festival Companies, which manages the center.

"While some of our smaller retailers had fewer sales than last year, our luxury retailers and restaurants posted double-digit growth," Murata said.

Sales during New Year's weekend were the strongest ever for Ala Moana Center's Sephora, which carries perfume, cosmetics and skin care products, said Jeannie Higa, store director for Sephora USA LLC.

Higa estimates sales at her Ala Moana Center location will post holiday increases of 20 percent to 25 percent.

"New Year's was like Christmas to us -- it was just fabulous," she said.