The lackluster Golden Week heralds a slow recovery in Japan’s Hawaii tourism industry
HONOLULU – Golden Week, Japan’s traditional peak tourist season, is better this year than last year, but it’s no longer the gold mine it once was as Hawaii is losing ground among competing destinations this holiday season and beyond.
Eric Takahata, managing director of the Japan Hawaii Tourism Authority, said Golden Week is expected to be 20% to 30% better than 2023; however, it is still nearly 50% below pre-COVID-19 levels in 2019. The holiday starts on April 26 and lasts until May 6.
“This time last year, only 35% of our people had recovered from the coronavirus, so we are increasing year by year,” Takahata said. But he added that the number of Japanese tourists to Hawaii this year is expected to recover more slowly than expected. .
“We expected production to return to 60% to 70% of 2019 levels by the third and fourth quarter of this year,” he said. “We had expected closer to 80%.”
Japan has been Hawaii’s largest international market, but the tourism industry’s recovery has lagged behind. Tourism officials say it may take 2026 or longer for the Japanese market to return to 2019 levels of more than 1.5 million tourists.
A key reason is that the Japanese government did not downgrade the threat of COVID-19 and treat it the same as influenza until May 2023. The total fee is approximately USD 480 per person. A recent threat is increasing competition from other destinations that are investing more in natural resources and other assets and better managing and marketing them.
Danny Ojiri, vice president of sales and marketing at Outrigger Enterprises Group, said: “I believe Japan’s actual recovery in the next 18 months is 70% of 2019 levels. The current economic conditions do not support a full recovery to 1.5 million in the next two to three years.
It’s not that tourists from Japan don’t travel; They just differ in their level of Hawaii travel during Golden Week and beyond. Golden Week is an important gauge of the health of Japanese travel to Hawaii because it is one of the busiest travel times, aside from New Year’s or the summer Obon festival in August or the series of September holidays that make up Silver Week. .
Kojiri said this year’s Golden Week holiday does not allow travelers to effectively combine holidays with vacation days, so they are more likely to choose short trips closer to home.
“According to the JTB report, the number of flights to domestic destinations is at 95% of pre-pandemic levels. International travel is up 68% from last year but is still at 56% of pre-pandemic levels,” he said.
“This year’s increase is due to the first year that COVID-19 restrictions on international travel were lifted last May.”
“Hawaii has always been in the top three (Golden Week), but this year South Korea and Southeast Asia will be the top destinations, along with some long-haul European destinations,” said Dave Erdman, founder, CEO and president of PacRim Marketing Group Inc.
With Hawaii heading into Golden Week, Edelman said, “travelers do have time and savings, but will be looking to save on lodging and expenses and looking for good value and a ‘value proposition’ in all aspects of their vacation.”
He added that Hawaii often looks to Golden Week to judge market progress. “Today, however, savvy travelers may choose to come before or even after the summer, when fares are more reasonable,” Edelman said.
‘morning Call’
Visitors from Japan have begun to accept the price difference, but Takahata said travel planners and sellers at the HTJ Japan Summit said Hawaii is losing steam due to aggressive marketing of other destinations such as Okinawa, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, Guam and Europe. Defeat and retreat.
Takahata said demand and conversion data from Expedia Japan at last week’s two-day HTJ Japan Summit in Honolulu showed Hawaii remains the most popular destination for Japanese travelers regardless of money. question. However, he said Hawaii will drop from No. 3 to No. 8 in converting demand into bookings by 2023.
“Last year we dropped five places,” he said. “Expedia Japan is currently the largest provider of flights from Japan to Hawaii, so when they show us data like this, we listen. It should set off alarm bells for us.
Takahata said that since COVID-19, more international destinations have reopened and are touting better prices, updated infrastructure, and that their beaches and parks are fully open and available for tourists.
The case study of Singapore, one of Hawaii’s lagging destinations, is particularly concerning because it shares the same distance and unfavorable exchange rate challenges as Hawaii, he said.
“Singapore’s tourism industry is catching up with the Japanese. A four-star hotel there is about $450 a night, but here it’s double that,” Takahata said. “People’s perception is that they’re getting something higher quality for the money they’re spending there.”
He added that Hawaii government leaders must recognize that infrastructure is equally important to visitors and residents.
“Everything should be on track, but it’s not. Construction is going on endlessly in Waikiki. This lane is closed. This is broken. There are water main breaks everywhere. You have homeless people. ,”He said. “We have to take a long, hard look. We say the Japanese are important to us, but our convention center roof is leaking.
Visitors to Hawaii would be required to pay a $25 green fee, but the state Legislature has not passed it. However, Takahata said the report highlighted the fact that travel to Hawaii is already subject to the highest rates in the world, and that these taxes do not appear to fund infrastructure investment.
Takahata added that restrictions on commercial activity on some Hawaii beaches mean bus tours that Japanese tend to favor are no longer able to get to all the places they want to go. He said wedding companies like MyNavi Wedding told people gathered at the HTJ Japan Summit that they were grappling with restrictions on beach business activity that prevented them from taking wedding photos at previously popular spots like Waimanalo Beach.
“Okinawa beat us in the romance market,” Takada said. “They’re actually taking advantage of our lack of access because they’re saying, ‘Hey, you can take pictures at this beach, this beach or this beach.'”
“tourist corridor”
Despite the obstacles, Japan still has a chance to rebound. Gov. Josh Green met with Japanese officials and business leaders in Japan in March to work on lowering travel barriers between Japan and Hawaii through “travel corridors” that would expand global entry, enhance biometric screening and Pursue “pre-clearance” status.
“The importance of governors and tourism officials building relationships with government officials, airline partners and tourism partners cannot be overstated,” Ojiri said. “Relationships are an important factor in doing business with Japan. That’s how it works. We need to communicate that the State of Hawaii will do everything possible to support industry partners in their efforts to promote Hawaii.
Takahata said that the Hawaii Tourism Authority approved a US$9 million budget for the Japanese market in 2024, the first full budget recovery since 2019. He said the HTA also approved a shift from a strictly malama (care for) Hawaii marketing campaign to two new campaigns called “Beautiful Hawaii” and “Yappari Hawai’i.”
Alisha Valentine, vice president of SMARInsights, told HTA’s board of directors on Thursday that HTJ’s marketing ROI in 2023 was approximately 16% higher than average, with an ROI of $330 per dollar compared to the post-COVID-19 average ROI of $285. Dollar.
“HTJ’s realignment with the ‘Yappari Hawai’i’ (Must Be Hawaii) campaign sends an immediate and positive message,” said Ojiri. “Other international destinations such as South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and Australia are aggressively vying for a share of Japanese tourists. Hawaii now faces new competition from European long-distance destinations such as France, Italy and Spain. For Japanese tourists, European vacations are now as affordable as a trip to Hawaii.
Edelman said Hawaii’s retailers, hotels and event partners want to bring more Japanese tourists back and are stepping up promotional marketing, which is critical to achieving overall market returns.
“I am confident in our joint efforts and collaboration to drive post-Golden Week business into the summer, autumn and holiday periods, with some hotels reporting that they have already received bookings, which is a continued important sign of the destination’s recovery. The Japanese market, “He said.
