The tourism industry in Hawaii is beginning to rebound with over 770,000 travelers visiting the islands in October, just shy of pre-pandemic levels in 2019. However, the Japanese market, which used to be a significant source of visitors, is still struggling, with less than half the number of visitors compared to before the pandemic.
Businesses like Coco Nene and Eating House 1849 are feeling the impact of the decrease in Japanese tourists, with sales declining and a heavy reliance on Japanese tour groups for revenue. Watabe Wedding Corporation has had to reduce hours for over 160 employees due to the decline in destination weddings.
While the Japanese travel market has shown improvement, it is moving slower than expected. Many in the industry are hopeful that once the yen becomes more favorable to the American dollar, Japanese visitors will return in larger numbers. Japanese visitors spent $874 million in the first ten months of this year, compared to $1.9 billion in 2019.
Despite the challenges, businesses in Hawaii remain optimistic about the future and are looking forward to welcoming Japanese visitors back with open arms. The industry is adapting with new campaigns targeting visitors from Japan and the West Coast in hopes of encouraging more tourism to the islands in the coming months.
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Photo credit www.khon2.com
