Hawaii tourism breaks record

HONOLULU, Hawaii – We arrived in Honolulu which many consider a tropical paradise, with Waikiki Beach as one of the major tourist draws. A lot of countries are now looking at tourism to beef up their economy, like the United States whose citizens are still a bit hesitant to spend as they wait for the Federal Reserve to announce encouraging new economic measures. A lot of companies have also stopped hiring and are keeping tabs on spending due to concerns that the US Congress might not reach an acceptable compromise in time for companies to avoid automatic tax increases.

This is probably why the US has launched a new tourism strategy to make America a more attractive and accessible travel destination, targeting an annual 100 million foreign tourists by 2021 that would generate an estimated $250 billion per year in terms of visitor spending. In Hawaii, tourism is acknowledged as a major – if not the biggest – source of private revenue with total visitor spending reaching over $12.5 billion in 2011. That’s more than a 15-percent increase from 2010 figures of $10.8 billion.

According to the Hawaii Tourism Authority, April – considered as a slow month, registered “record breaking” numbers, with close to 650,000 tourists contributing $1.17 billion in terms of spending, described as the highest total expenditure on record for April. One factor being attributed to the increased number is the higher arrivals from Japan, an indicator that the Asian country is recovering from the ravages of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.

Hawaiian Airlines, the biggest and longest serving airline in Hawaii, had earlier launched daily non-stop service between Honolulu and Fukuoka – the third destination that Hawaiian has launched in the last two years following Tokyo and Osaka in November 2010 and July 2011, respectively. It’s not really surprising that more and more travelers are going Hawaiian since the airline continues to lead US carriers in terms of punctuality and on-time arrivals with a 94.4 percent rating according to the US Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report. It also has the fewest number of cancellations – two actually – out of more than 6,000 flights in April.

Definitely, Hawaii continues to be a major tourist destination with numerous attractions that are not confined to its beaches – and this fact has not escaped the notice of the US Department of Commerce which is pouring in $2.4 million in Hawaii’s culinary arts industry via an EDA (Economic Development Administration) grant to expand the training facilities of the Culinary Institute of the Pacific located in Honolulu.

According to an official, the investment shows the Obama government’s commitment to boost travel and tourism – acknowledged as “America’s number one services export” that are critical to job creation and economic growth. Congresswoman Mazie Hirono, a frontrunner in the race for Hawaii’s next US Senator, noted that “The state’s most recent tourism numbers are strong. A number of airlines including United and our very own Hawaiian Airlines have just launched non-stop service from the East Coast,” adding that the expansion of the culinary institute’s facilities would hone the talent of students and perhaps launch successful careers in the food industry, and add to Hawaii’s strong reputation as a destination for food lovers.

Filipinos show political muscle

In Hawaii, Filipinos have surpassed the Japanese as the largest Asian group – making them a powerful political force in the state. As a matter of fact, a Filipina PR consultant recently figured in a controversial $5.2 billion rail project with suspicions that public money may have been used to lobby for support from Fil-Hawaiian politicians. The consultant, who was hired by a city contractor specifically to promote the project, mobilized pro-rail Filipinos to wear “Filipinos for Rail” t-shirts and instructed them to “track down” a city council member to convince him that his fellow Pinoys are supportive of the project.

Filipinos are divided over the Honolulu rail project (by the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation or HART) which, despite opposition was given the go-signal by the city council to borrow an additional $450 million to keep the project on track – amid lingering doubts concerning HART’s capability to pay back the loan. Sources say that Ben Cayetano, Hawaii’s fifth state governor and the first Filipino-American ever to serve as such, could be a critical player since he is running for mayor in the upcoming general elections. Cayetano, who is leading in surveys and has a solid record as public servant for almost three decades, has never lost an election – and part of his platform is to keep the rail project permanently off the track.

How can it be more fun in the Philippines?

As we were leaving Manila, we saw some traffic cops in green shirts accosting drivers along Sales Road and Andrews Avenue conducting their “kotong” operations in broad daylight. There have been a lot of complaints about these “hulidap” cops targeting either balikbayans coming from the airport or foreigners rushing off to catch a flight. These mulcters just seem to appear from out of nowhere and accost unsuspecting drivers, accusing them of committing all kinds of traffic violations. They resort to intimidation, telling drivers that the problem could get worse if the MMDA gets called in on the scene. If the scare tactics don’t work, they resort to “haggling” and “offer” a lesser offense which could be easily “fixed” to avoid any more inconvenience and delay.

Despite numerous reports against these mulcters, it looks like nothing is being done because we have yet to hear about any airport kotong cop getting sacked. If these things keep happening, how can it be more fun in the Philippines?

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