# Implications Of Record Tourism in Hawaii



## WalnutBaron (Feb 7, 2013)

I've noticed a number of posts recently expressing shock over high costs of rental cars, airfares, and hotel and TS availability in Hawaii. Some folks are wondering if prices will come down over time.

My guess--at least in the near term--is no. Here's a recent article that confirms that Hawaii is--despite the continued lousy U.S. economy--a very hot vacation destination these days. http://www.dialaflight.com/blog/2013/01/record-number-of-tourists-visited-hawaii-in-2012/

Here's another report indicating that hotel room rates have recently hit their highest levels ever. http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2013/01/14/hawaii-hotel-rates-hit-all-time-high.html

We visit Hawaii annually and I book my TS at Princeville at the one-year window. For what it's worth, I'll likely try to book my flight and rental car fairly soon after my reservation is confirmed--on the lookout for the occasional sale if it pops up--but not waiting around until within 90 or 120 days of my departure to finalize things.

IMO, past patterns of finding great deals in Hawaii are a thing of the past, at least for now.


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## buzglyd (Feb 7, 2013)

I think a lot of it might be the current fear about traveling into Mexico.

Mexico is hurting now and those people still want to travel and Hawaii is the good ol' USA.

I'd love to visit some other islands but living in California, the flights are forever to visit Aruba or USVI, etc.

Hawaii is 5 hours and there are non-stops to every island from here.


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## singlemalt_18 (Feb 7, 2013)

buzglyd said:


> I think a lot of it might be the current fear about traveling into Mexico.
> 
> Mexico is hurting now and those people still want to travel and Hawaii is the good ol' USA.
> 
> ...



There is NO QUESTION that Hawaii has always represented a value proposition for folks in California, and at times its value reaches a peak.  The Hawaiian Islands however, have a geographic identity that enables it to benefit from other macro-economic forces as well.

Hawaii benefits greatly from tourism originating from all over the Australia/Asia region in a big way.  It is historically a generic destination for the Japanese, and during previous economic/currency cycles they have taken full advantage of travel as well as real estate ownership.  It continues to represent a great value for many other travelers from Australia, as well as the other economically vibrant Asian countries.

As an Easterner, the Islands although a part of my own country, have been significantly less economically viable destination... but I am fortunate to have been there 5 times.


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## rifleman69 (Feb 8, 2013)

buzglyd said:


> I think a lot of it might be the current fear about traveling into Mexico.
> 
> Mexico is hurting now and those people still want to travel and Hawaii is the good ol' USA.
> 
> ...



What buz said.  Any of the Hawaiian islands is at most a one stop itinerary from Portland...it would take over one day to fly to anywhere in the Caribbean, wife doesn't do the red eyes.   Much easier to get to Hawaii and not have to take any sort of a red eye flight.   


And of course, many people are more comfortable still being in the USA if anything should go wrong health-wise.   Kauai in April, here we come!


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## dougp26364 (Feb 8, 2013)

Keep in mind that Hawaiian tourism is not exclusively tied to the US economy. There are many countries within equal travel distance to Hawaii other than the US.

I had noticed that car rental prices had gone through the roof. I wasn't certain if this was just Maui or if it was hitting the other islands as well. At any rate I'm glad we took advantage of the lull in Hawaiian tourism when we did. Now I guess we can explore other destinations that maybe cost a little less of are equal in price. Europe might once again become a vacation destnation for us or perhaps we'll spend more time domestically for the next couple of years. It just depends on where we see the value and what our own budget looks like over the next few years.


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## LisaH (Feb 8, 2013)

_*"According to the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s figures, arrivals from the top markets have increased significantly from 2011, most notably arrivals from Asia. The number of visitors arriving from China increased by 41.8 per cent in 2012, while visitors from Japan increased by 17 per cent.  New flight routes and a weaker dollar are said to be contributing factors to the increase in Asian tourists."*_

I'm in China now. You see advertisement for travel to Hawaii quite often, both on the street and on TV. China Eastern Airline recently added a daily direct flight from Shanghai to HNL. My nephew is leaving tomorrow (Chinese New Year Day) with his buddies to spend five days there. To me that's nuts (10-11 hour each way!) but they are not alone. With a strong economy here, people have more spending money. I believe Hawaii tourism will continue to be strong for the next few years...


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Feb 8, 2013)

singlemalt_18 said:


> Hawaii benefits greatly from tourism originating from all over the Australia/Asia region in a big way.  It is historically a generic destination for the Japanese, and during previous economic/currency cycles they have taken full advantage of travel as well as real estate ownership.  It continues to represent a great value for many other travelers from Australia, as well as the other economically vibrant Asian countries.





LisaH said:


> _*"According to the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s figures, arrivals from the top markets have increased significantly from 2011, most notably arrivals from Asia. The number of visitors arriving from China increased by 41.8 per cent in 2012, while visitors from Japan increased by 17 per cent.  New flight routes and a weaker dollar are said to be contributing factors to the increase in Asian tourists."*_
> 
> I'm in China now. You see advertisement for travel to Hawaii quite often, both on the street and on TV. China Eastern Airline recently added a daily direct flight from Shanghai to HNL. My nephew is leaving tomorrow (Chinese New Year Day) with his buddies to spend five days there. To me that's nuts (10-11 hour each way!) but they are not alone. With a strong economy here, people have more spending money. I believe Hawaii tourism will continue to be strong for the next few years...



We got involved in timesharing because of the collapse of Asian tourism to Hawaii in the late 1990's.  One day  in early 1999 we got a promo in the mail from the Marriott in Lihue advertising 6 days and five nights + rental car + $75 in vouchers for hotel services and meals for $499.  Our 25th anniversary was that year, and we had talked often about how nice it would be to visit Hawaii, so that was our opportunity. When we got there the resort offered us another $75 in vouchers if we signed up for the timeshare tour, which we did. Salesman was wonderful - he absolutely sold us on timesharing.  But he did get a bit upset when we rescinded.

We learned during that trip that the reason they were running the offer was because of all the surplus capacity they had with the dropoff in Japanese tourism.  When we were there it was evident they were well set up to handle Japanese visitors, but there weren't very many around.  

Anyway that trip to visit Hawaii just once turned into several timeshares and near annual trips to Hawaii thereafter.


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## Kauai Kid (Feb 8, 2013)

buzglyd said:


> I think a lot of it might be the current fear about traveling into Mexico.
> 
> Mexico is hurting now and those people still want to travel and Hawaii is the good ol' USA.
> 
> ...




I sure hope you get a non-stop from California.  Otherwise, it is the drink.  :hysterical:


Sterling


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## LisaH (Feb 8, 2013)

buzglyd said:


> I'd love to visit some other islands but living in California, the flights are forever to visit Aruba or USVI, etc.
> 
> Hawaii is 5 hours and there are non-stops to every island from here.



Yes it's a long haul from CA to Caribbean but the destination could be so enticing. We felt in love with USVI (St John) and plan to go there at least every other year


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## cgeidl (Feb 8, 2013)

*In Oahu now*

With a group of 30 traveling independently.We booked ahead. Car rentals now almost $800 per week economy.Hotels $250 and up. If rates keep going up someone soon will be able to sell their timeshare.lots of Chinese,japenese and Europeans.record year last year and this is starting better than last year. Very inexpensive flights this year.


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Feb 8, 2013)

buzglyd said:


> I'd love to visit some other islands but living in California, the flights are forever to visit Aruba or USVI, etc.
> 
> Hawaii is 5 hours and there are non-stops to every island from here.



DS and DIL go to Cayman every year from Seattle.  They have little interest in Hawaii.


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## buzglyd (Feb 8, 2013)

LisaH said:


> Yes it's a long haul from CA to Caribbean but the destination could be so enticing. We felt in love with USVI (St John) and plan to go there at least every other year



Believe me I will too. 

I'm raising a teen right now so football and high school dances are on the agenda for now.


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## taffy19 (Feb 9, 2013)

cgeidl said:


> With a group of 30 traveling independently.We booked ahead. Car rentals now almost $800 per week economy.Hotels $250 and up. If rates keep going up someone soon will be able to sell their timeshare.lots of Chinese,japenese and Europeans.record year last year and this is starting better than last year. Very inexpensive flights this year.


$800 per week on Oahu? That is outrageous.

I booked a compact finally a few days ago for Maui in March and April and it cost us $873.06 total costs for *4 weeks* with extra driver included (spouse). We saw the rates as high as $2,179 and Costco was $1,162 that same day.

The TUG board saved me a lot of money by reading this thread. This is the second time around. 

Last time, it was even a bigger savings because insurance was included too.


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## singlemalt_18 (Feb 9, 2013)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> We got involved in timesharing because of the collapse of Asian tourism to Hawaii in the late 1990's...
> ...We learned during that trip that the reason they were running the offer was because of all the surplus capacity they had with the dropoff in Japanese tourism.  When we were there it was evident they were well set up to handle Japanese visitors, but there weren't very many around.



We eloped during a week on Kauai in 1995 and the talk at that time was how real estate was being bought up by the Japanese all over the islands.  From there we were off to The Big Island for week #2 and booked an inter-island hop on either Aloha or Hawaiian. (Both were independent carriers at that time.)  The flight was on a fully booked 727 or similar size plane, and it is NOT an exaggeration to say that we were virtually the only two non-Japanese passengers on that flight.

Most interesting (and annoying) was learning that the customary social order associated with disembarking an aircraft is not practiced by the Japanese.  At least NOT while they are on vacation.  Usually everyone waits until the people seated in the row in front of you leave before you attempt to schlep your own way into and up the aisle, but not this time.  Despite the fact that both fore and aft doors were open it was every man and woman for them self!  I needed to physically block the aisle by grasping seat backs with both hands to ensure that my wife could take her place with me in the aisle.


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## geoand (Feb 9, 2013)

singlemalt_18 said:


> We eloped during a week on Kauai in 1995 and the talk at that time was how real estate was being bought up by the Japanese all over the islands.  From there we were off to The Big Island for week #2 and booked an inter-island hop on either Aloha or Hawaiian. (Both were independent carriers at that time.)  The flight was on a fully booked 727 or similar size plane, and it is NOT an exaggeration to say that we were virtually the only two non-Japanese passengers on that flight.
> 
> Most interesting (and annoying) was learning that the customary social order associated with disembarking an aircraft is not practiced by the Japanese.  At least NOT while they are on vacation.  Usually everyone waits until the people seated in the row in front of you leave before you attempt to schlep your own way into and up the aisle, but not this time.  Despite the fact that both fore and aft doors were open it was every man and woman for them self!  I needed to physically block the aisle by grasping seat backs with both hands to ensure that my wife could take her place with me in the aisle.



I have endured too many of these types of experiences in Disneyland and other entertainment parks, golf courses, restaurants, theaters both movie and live performances, elevators, subways, Pearl Harbor, D.C. etc.  I know it is a generalization, but it hits me hard because I am of Japanese heritage.


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## jehb2 (Feb 10, 2013)

singlemalt_18 said:


> Most interesting (and annoying) was learning that the customary social order associated with disembarking an aircraft is not practiced by the Japanese.



And of course we Americans are well known for our grace, manners, and respect of other cultures when traveling abroad.


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## Tamaradarann (Feb 11, 2013)

*Stay in Oahu for $0 rental car rates*



iconnections said:


> $800 per week on Oahu? That is outrageous.
> 
> I booked a compact finally a few days ago for Maui in March and April and it cost us $873.06 total costs for *4 weeks* with extra driver included (spouse). We saw the rates as high as $2,179 and Costco was $1,162 that same day.
> 
> ...



When we stay in Waikiki we don't get a rental car.  You don't a car in Waikiki.  Therefore, the rental car rate is $0.


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## Ron98GT (Feb 11, 2013)

Kauai Kid said:


> I sure hope you get a non-stop from California.  Otherwise, it is the drink.  :hysterical:
> 
> 
> Sterling


We don't get non-stop from Las Vegas to Hawaii, if we're going to Maui, Kauai, or the Big Island.  All the Hawaiian Air flights go thru Oahu.  Not only do you have to switch planes, but you have to also switch terminals.


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## singlemalt_18 (Feb 12, 2013)

geoand said:


> ...I know it is a generalization, but it hits me hard because I am of Japanese heritage.



My comments are not meant to imply any ill will.  I have been on some 70 to 80 flights over the past 30 plus years, mostly throughout the U.S, but also to U.K., Italy, Germany and France.  Our experience on that one flight was something a bit different that made it stand out from the others.

People in different places and from different cultures have different social dynamics that shape their behavior; it is simply part of human nature.  In U.S. grocery stores we freely use our hands to inspect and select produce items, squeezing melons or choosing one tomato over another.  In Italy that same behavior will get you publicly scolded and reprimanded.  Culturally there, it is not only a no-no to use your bare hands on the veggies, but it is acceptable to publicly voice – and with great fanfare I can confirm – one’s disapproval to a total stranger in no uncertain terms.

Here on the other hand, we will most often just bite our tongues when a stranger’s public behavior doesn’t meet our approval.  Ya gotta love those Italian tempers… I do at least because I married one!



jehb2 said:


> And of course we Americans are well known for our grace, manners, and respect of other cultures when traveling abroad.



...I can't speak for others, but I know that my wife and I are; that is why we have so many great memories of the people we have met and the experiences we have shared.


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## taffy19 (Feb 13, 2013)

Tamaradarann said:


> When we stay in Waikiki we don't get a rental car. You don't a car in Waikiki. Therefore, the rental car rate is $0.


I agree but if you stay on the other side of the island or at Ko'olina, you need a car.  We stay at Waikiki Beach too so don't need a car either.  Parking is a problem and very expensive too.


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## BocaBoy (Feb 20, 2013)

We seldom spend much more than $200/week for a rental car in Hawaii.  We are in Hawaii right now (Maui and Kauai) for a total of five weeks.  We are spending a little over $200 each for three of the weeks and less than $200 for each of the other two weeks.  Car rental rates have gone up a lot, however, and it is getting harder to get the good deals.


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