Special thanks to the Editor of the Honolulu Star Advertiser who authorized us to re-print the complete newspaper article in this blog.
The article begins below:
The
first major boom in Taiwanese travelers to Hawaii as a result of the
nation's newfound visa waiver status should start to hit next
spring.
However, Hawaii's travel trade,
government leaders and businesses are already gearing up to take
advantage of the policy change, which was announced by U.S.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Tuesday.
Starting Nov. 1 the U.S. will
begin permitting visa-free travel for eligible Taiwanese travelers who
are visiting for up to 90 days for business or tourism. The move
is expected to bring additional Taiwanese tourists to Hawaii and
increase the chances there will be direct flights between the
destinations. Eventually it also could foster additional opportunities
for business and trade, clean energy and economic development
initiatives, film, study-aboard programs and governmental relationships.
"As we've learned from Japan and
Korea, the tourism market is usually the first to grow, and then other
opportunities grow from that," said Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz.
Hawaii is expected to see
visitor arrivals from Taiwan rise significantly, as did the number of
visitors from South Korea after it achieved visa waiver status in
2008, said Hawaii Tourism Authority President and CEO Mike McCartney.
Following the Visa Waiver
Program with Korea in 2008, Korean arrivals increased by 35 percent in
2009 and have continued to increase by double digits since then,
McCartney said. Visitor expenditures have also increased to $194 million
last year from $79.4 million in 2008, he said.
"Korea has become one of the
fastest-growing markets for our tourism economy. We anticipate seeing
similar growth out of Taiwan following their entrance to the visa
waiver program," McCartney said.
State, city and business leaders
have been aggressively courting Taiwan for the past 18 months or so in
preparation for the coming visa waiver, Schatz said.
"We've had a very intense focus on Taiwan, and it's beginning to bear fruit," he said.
Last year Hawaii welcomed 8,186
visitors from Taiwan and, even without the visa waiver, had projected
that the market would grow to 10,642 arrivals by the end of 2012.
The numbers have been growing since last November's announcement that a
visa waiver would come, said Michael Merner, executive director of
Hawaii Tourism Asia, which is part of the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
From January to August this
year, Merner said, Taiwanese visitors to Hawaii rose by about 39
percent. Since January, Merner said, unique visitors to the Hawaii
Tourism Taiwan website increased by 50 percent.
"Travel agents have been eagerly
awaiting visa waiver status to the U.S., and now that it is here, we
can expect continued strong growth in arrivals out of the Taiwan
market," he said.
Hawaii Tourism Asia will spend
the coming months working with major Taiwanese travel agents to develop
new Hawaii packages, Merner said. The office also will work with
the major airlines to push for a 2013 launch of direct flights from
Taipei to Honolulu, Merner said.
THE HTA plans to spend a portion
of a $2 million marketing fund, which was earmarked by the state
Legislature this year for international development, to increase
travel from Taiwan to the Hawaiian Islands, McCartney said.
Hawaii tourism officials also
are working to augment the daily service offered by China Airlines from
Taipei to Honolulu via Japan, he said.
It's conceivable that nonstop
service between Taiwan and Hawaii will follow the visa waiver, said Brad
DiFiore, co-founder and managing partner of Atlanta-based Ailevon
Air Service Consulting.
"EVA Air and China Airlines have
publically said that they would do it, but what they say and what they
do could be different," DiFiore said.
Since Taiwan serves as a
transfer point to Hawaii from other parts of Asia, nonstop service could
increase travel from other markets, too.
"This could really tip the
scales in our favor," said Randy Tanaka, assistant general manager of
the Hawai‘i Convention Center. "This enhances our reputation as an
international destination that can pull people from all corners of the
world."
For now, Merner said, he
anticipates a strong increase in Taiwanese family and incentive group
arrivals. Under the previous policy, Merner said, Taiwanese
travelers typically had to travel to Taipei to obtain a visa, which cost
about $160 and took anywhere from two to four weeks to receive.
The process was particularly onerous for Taiwanese travelers who lived
outside of Taipei since they often had to stay overnight to obtain
a U.S. visa, he said.
"For families and incentive groups, this is a huge burden which now disappears with the visa waiver program," Merner said.
The visa waiver increases the
possibility of hosting more Taiwanese leisure travelers, said Jerry
Gibson, Hilton area vice president and managing director of Hilton
Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort.
"Typically we've hosted
government or business travelers from the Taiwan market," said Gibson,
whose hotel hosted the Taiwanese delegation during last November's
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
Now Hilton is stepping up
efforts to welcome these visitors back by adding ethnic cuisine to its
menus and offering a special tea service.
"We believe that the more international travelers feel at home, the more they will come," Gibson said.
Retailers and other businesses
also are getting in on the action, said Dave Erdman, president and CEO
of PacRim Marketing Group Inc. and PRTech LLC.
"Some of our clients are well
into production and preparation for the visa waiver status with
localized materials and outreach," Erdman said. "Others are
working on plans for early 2013."
Erdman said his firm is looking
for client opportunities to support marketing efforts, including
missions, trade fairs or agent or media familiarization trips. He
also has advised clients to add traditional Chinese language to websites
and marketing materials because that is the format preferred by
the Taiwanese market.
Royal Hawaiian Center has been
working with Toby Tamaye, president of At Marketing, to grow its share
of Taiwanese travelers, said Sam Shenkus, RHC marketing director.
RHC translated its press kits into traditional Chinese five years ago
and now is modifying its maps and moving toward adjusting its
website, Shenkus said.
"We're on it," she said.
Ala Moana Center Group Marketing
Manager Scott Creel said that by year's end the center will introduce a
traditional Chinese-language website and will unveil a video
channel on YouTube Taiwan.
"This will allow all Taiwanese
visitors who are planning a trip to Hawaii to see the breadth and depth
of the merchandise that we have available," Creel said.