PHOTO: Brenda He, director and general manager of Hawaii Tourism China, speaks at the 2014 Hawaii Tourism Conference. (Courtesy Hawaii Tourism Authority Facebook page)
While Hawaii's Chinese market has a ways to go before it catches up to the islands' Japanese tourism industry, the state has made strides in serving and attracting Chinese.
The Chinese market was one of the markets highlighted at the 2014 Hawaii Tourism Conference from Aug. 28-29 in Honolulu, HI.
Brenda He, director and general manager of Hawaii Tourism China-a branch of the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA)-spoke about the challenges the HTA faces in convincing Chinese to tour Hawaii at the conference. She also spoke about the jump in Chinese travel to Hawaii and what the HTA has been doing to aid this spike.
Here's a look at Hawaii's current Chinese market.
Challenges
There are three main challenges Chinese travelers face in visiting Hawaii, according to He: obtaining a visa, the language barrier and transportation cost.
There has been an easing of visa rules recently, which should help, but the language barrier and transportation cost are still very real.
There's also the fact that the Chinese government still expects Chinese to have a strong business reason when traveling. This can hamper tourism in Hawaii, considering Hawaii has traditionally been viewed as a leisure destination.
On top of that, Hawaii's shopping opportunities and product inventory are still not widely recognized by Chinese, despite Hawaii Tourism China offering a catalog of more than 200 items. Perhaps this changes in time, but Hawaii is not doing itself any favors with its prices, considering Chinese-as He noted-have traditionally been budget travelers.
That extends to accommodations. Hawaii ranked second in the U.S. in ADR through June 2014, according to STR. As a result, many Chinese are opting for three-star accommodations in Hawaii rather than luxury properties.
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Positives
Yet, despite all of these obstacles, the HTA has been able to persuade Chinese to visit Hawaii. More than 115,800 Chinese visited Hawaii in 2013. While that number pales in comparison to the Japanese market in Hawaii, it's worth noting that it nearly doubles the number from 2010. It's safe to say there has been significant growth.
So, how has the HTA helped Hawaii attract more Chinese travelers?
Well, for one, Hawaii recognizes China's focus on technology. The HTA has been increasing its marketing efforts in the digital realm, spreading the word via social media. And given the Chinese like to share what they are excited about (He said that about half of all Chinese visitors to Hawaii book through word of mouth), social media is a very important tool to utilize.
He also noted that Chinese travelers are generally looking for relaxation, romance and activities (the latter being a continuation of the younger generations' desire to be independent and have in-depth experiences). In that respect, it's no wonder why the romance and wedding imagery used by the HTA has been the most persuasive to Chinese, according to He.
Last but not least, one only has to visit China's Nanjing Road to guess another draw to Hawaii for Chinese. The heavy pollution in China has been well documented, and Hawaii is a sight for sore eyes for Chinese in that regard.
So, Hawaii may face a lot of challenges when attracting Chinese, but the state does have some things going for it, evidenced by the jump in tourism numbers.
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