Elaine Olelo Masters, click
here to update your pages on AuthorsDen.
Blogs by Elaine Olelo Masters
Waikiki Visitor Count 6/4/2012 1:14:08 PM
Come one, come all!
Visitor stats for April just came out (we run a month behind. Relaxed, slow, like everything in Hawaii). And we broke records. I thought that was true, and the stats confirmed it. Waikiki is nicely packed with smiling, jet-lagging tourists.
More of them came than last year, they stayed longer, and they spent more, all benefitting our beleaguered budget. Welcome, tourists!
Californians, of course, lead the pack. They tend to stay in Honolulu or on Maui.
East Coast arrivals were up. That's a l o n g plane trip from the East Coast, and as or today, Hawaiian Airlines is flying all the way between Honolulu and New York City. Wow. But years ago, I took a non-stop flight from New York to Hong Kong, the longest flight available at that time. So I know it can be done.
Numbers were up for Japan, still suffering from post traumatic stress after last year's tsunami and earthquake--Hawaiians have poured a lot of tender loving care into Japan this past year. And Korea--now that their visa process is streamlined, they're coming in bunches.
Now, we also have direct flights to a couple of locations in China, but getting a visa in China is onerous. We're begging the State Department to streamline that, too. Believe it or not, Chinese tourists are big spenders.
Anyway, we welcome all of them with our aloha spirit. Come try our food, enjoy our beaches, take a hula lesson, hike a mountain trail (in a group--don't get lost) relax and recuperate from your arduous work days.
