HAWAI`I TOURISM INDUSTRY EXPECTS BOOST FROM VISA WAIVER PROGRAM

HONOLULU – More international visitors are expected to travel to Hawai‘i as a result of the easing of travel restrictions implemented today through the United States Visa Waiver Program, which now includes South Korea among the list of nations whose citizens will be able to travel to the United States for business or tourism without a visa. 

Lt. Governor James R. “Duke” Aiona, Jr. met with Asian airline officials in South Korea last week to seek new air service and increases in the number of flights and seats from key Asian cities to Hawai‘i’s international airports in Honolulu, Kona and Hilo.

“The Korean airline industry is optimistic about expanding service to Hawai‘i,” Lt. Governor Aiona said. “The timing of these meetings could not have been better to capitalize on the momentum of the Visa Waiver Program.”

Lt. Governor Aiona met Thursday with Korean Air executives to discuss increased seat capacity to the islands and Asiana Airlines to pursue the potential of resuming air service to Hawai‘i.

Korean Air executives told Lt. Governor Aiona that they plan to increase seats to Hawai‘i.

“Starting early next year, we plan to replace the Incheon-Honolulu aircraft from the current B777 to the B747, increasing 100 seats daily,” said Mr. Seung-Bum Lee, managing vice president of the regional passenger sales office of Korean Air.

“A new round-trip flight between Korea and Hawai‘i is positively considered for the near future,” said Mr. Joo-An Kang, president of Asiana Airlines, following his meeting with the Lt. Governor.  Asiana Airlines has not had direct flights to Hawai‘i since 1998.

Building on the momentum of the Lingle-Aiona Administration’s five-point economic action plan to stimulate Hawai‘i’s economy, the Governor and Lt. Governor are traveling separately in Asia to promote travel to Hawai‘i as well as business investments and partnerships with the state. The Lt. Governor will return to Hawai‘i Nov. 18, and the Governor will return Nov. 22.

Between them, the state’s top two leaders are visiting Indonesia, Taiwan, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

“We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response in Korea and Japan,” Lt. Governor Aiona said from Japan, where he is meeting with tourism officials until Tuesday. “Hawai‘i is receiving more attention than any other U.S. state among the Korean travel trade, and these face-to-face meetings are helping to build upon those key relationships. Everyone we’ve met with in Japan continues to believe that Hawai‘i is a preferred destination for Japanese travelers.”

To highlight the importance of Korean visitors to Hawai‘i, Governor Linda Lingle and Lt. Governor Duke Aiona proclaimed Nov. 17, 2008 as “Visa Waiver Program Day” in Hawai‘i.

“We have been anticipating this for a long time,” said State Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert, who is traveling with the Lt. Governor in Korea and Japan.   “Korea has close ties to Hawai‘i, and the Visa Waiver Program now allows them to travel freely to the islands.”

Hawai‘i Tourism Korea has been preparing for Korea’s inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program by working closely with the Korean travel industry to increase brand awareness, strengthen relationships and provide travel industry partners with the tools to promote the destination.

“We anticipate that the Visa Waiver Program will boost Hawai‘i’s tourism industry, doubling the number of Korean visitors to Hawai‘i in the first one to two years,” Lt. Governor Aiona said. Approximately 50,000 Koreans have visited Hawai‘i within the last year.

More information about the Lt. Governor’s trip to Asia, including photos and a detailed schedule, can be found on his web site at http://hawaii.gov/ltgov.

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For more information, contact:

Travis Taylor   
Communications Director   
Office of the Lieutenant Governor       
Phone: (808) 586-0283   

Marsha Wienert
State Tourism Liaison
DBEDT
Phone: (808) 586-2362