1X
A decline in visitor numbers prompted this examination of Hawaii's tourism industry by two University of Hawaii academics. James Mak, a professor of economics, argued that Hawaii had entered Taiwan and South Korea's outbound travel markets too late and was failing to secure its fair share of those rapidly growing visitor flows. He and Ken Tucker, a specialist in travel industry management, agreed that the Hawaii Visitors Bureau had too little engagement with local inbound operators serving Asian markets. Tucker also noted that Hawaii lacked a publicly agreed strategic plan — unlike competitor destinations such as Singapore — and had not developed higher-yield products such as wellness and elective-surgery tourism. Both guests warned that if local residents continued to be crowded out of beaches and recreational areas, public support for the visitor industry would eventually collapse, taking the industry with it. Mak placed responsibility for a comprehensive strategic plan with state government rather than the HVB, whose mandate is limited to marketing. The standing question is whether the state, the HVB, and the private sector can coordinate before Hawaii loses further ground to newer destinations.
Transcript
Read or download the full transcript (.txt). Speaker labels were assigned automatically and may contain errors.