Hawaii seeks new ideas amid lack of Japanese touristsーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS
And tourists from Japan have long been a top source of Hawaii’s international visitors. But since the Corona virus pandemic, they have been notably absent largely due to the yen’s depreciation. HK World’s Sahi Akira reports on the impact on local businesses. This main street in Waiki is lined with resort hotels and boutiques. It’s bustling with tourists. Many of them used to be Japanese. There are not many Japanese here. There are lots of people who look Korean and Chinese. I thought there would be more Japanese. Visitor numbers to Hawaii have recovered to over 90% of prepandemic levels. But Japanese still account for less than half of their former numbers. Local businesses are having to change their focus. For many years, this boat tour relied heavily on Japanese tourists, but now they are in the minority. Over your neck will go behind your back. The company now has English as well as Japanese instructions targeting other nationalities. They also included more free time preferred by Americans in what had been busy schedules of photos and meals aimed at the Japanese. They say they have been able to survive the crisis by catering to the new clientele. A lot of people hurting in Hawaii. Not not only us and there’s a lot of people the shops in Wiki who dealt with the Japanese are really suffering or they just closed up. Meanwhile, some see the situation as an opportunity to develop new businesses. Aloha. Welcome in. Hawaii’s first capsule hotel opened in a prime waiki location this month. It occupies the entire renovated floor of an office building. The price per night is from $120, reasonable for this area. The goal is to meet travelers demands for cheaper accommodation. They already have reservations for next year, including families from Japan. There were so many challenges having something such a brand new concept brought into Hawaii for the first time. The Japanese tourist is always going to be um the our initial target. One expert points out the importance of sustainable business models while aiming to bring back Japanese tourists. The future is uncertain, but uh most conservative estimates say that uh for Japanese visiting market to recover to prepandemic levels, maybe a couple of years would be the best estimate. Uh 3 to four years down the line. A lot of Hawaii businesses are taking their own initiative to try and form strategies to try to survive this. Will Japanese people return to Hawaii in greater numbers? In the meantime, local businesses are finding new strategies to diversify and survive. Sahiakira in HK World.
Hawaii has always been a very popular destination for Japanese tourists. But the coronavirus pandemic interrupted that — and they have yet to return in their former numbers. Local businesses are now having to find new strategies to survive. #usa #hawaii #japan #tourism #business
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