The Japan Summit was held with the aim of encouraging and advancing the momentum for international travel in the lead-up to the summer vacation season, as Japan has eased its border control measures and travel agencies have resumed sales of Hawaii travel products. The Hawaii Tourism Authority recognizes that this is an opportunity to communicate its future guidelines to the travel industry.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority Japan office held its first “Japan Summit 2022” for travel industry partners in three years from June 6 to 9. As of June, Hawaii has relaxed its restrictions on activities and is no longer required to wear masks indoors or outdoors, and the state has become more active with visitors, mainly from the U.S. mainland.
First Summit in 3 Years is HUGE! Face-to-face format over 3 days
The Japan Summit, held at the Hawaii Convention Center on the island of Oahu, provided a forum for Japanese travel agencies and local suppliers to promote the development of travel products and exchange information to strengthen sales through business meetings and round-table discussions. Hawaiian culture workshop on the second day. The third day will be a volunteer day, and the 2022 program will feature many opportunities to experience firsthand the “Malama Hawaii” and “DMAP” programs promoted by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
About 65 people from the travel industry and 19 companies from Japan participated in the event. There are 50 local partner companies. The scale of the summit was the same as in 2019 before Corona. The program kicked off with a sacred “Oli” ceremony. The event was unveiled by Kalani Ka’anana, Chief Brand Officer of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, who said, “We gather energy during the meeting. According to Ka’anana, “We often perform the Oli during meetings to gather energy and raise spirits.
On June 6, the first day of the event, “Japan Summit Market Update,” a keynote speech with the latest information was held. Mitsue Varley, Director of the Japan Branch of the Hawaii Visitors Bureau, gave a presentation titled “Hawaii Visitors Bureau Market Update & Initiatives for 2022,” introducing the current state of Hawaii and future developments. She opened her speech by saying, “The Tourism Bureau would like to support the recovery of the Japanese market by working together as one.
First, he discussed the current situation in Hawaii and the state’s policies, beginning with the JATA delegation’s visit in April, followed by the visit of the Japan-Hawaii Friendship Council Members Association and other events that have increased communication between the government and the Hawaii Tourism Association, and have started the process of reopening the tourism industry. He also mentioned the courtesy visit by the Hawaii State delegation in May, during which they were able to exchange views on the three pillars of government, business, and tourism.
And the U.S. market is currently doing well with return trips, which have been positive since last May 2021, and have returned a total of 66% since last May 2019. Meanwhile, the Japanese market saw 4,038 visitors in April and 6,571 visitors during Golden Week in May alone, surpassing the previous month’s total in a single week. We hope to turn this vacuum into a positive one, and we look forward to working together with everyone to achieve this goal.
The next topic was Hawaii’s occupancy rate: after the March 2020 lockdown, the state reopened to U.S. tourism in October, and after Safe Travel was eliminated, occupancy rates increased along with the number of travelers. He noted that hotel occupancy and room rates per room on the neighboring islands have been positive. Compared to 2019, the market is slowly returning to normal, and the price per room has already exceeded the previous year. The Japanese market is picking up the pace of bookings for Silver Week and the Honolulu Marathon at the end of the year,” he said.
Regarding market share, he noted that Japan has 15.39% of the market, followed by Canada and Oceania, and introduced the importance of Japan in the international market. Oahu has 25%, Hawaii 10%, and Maui and Kauai 2%.
Touching on the status of airline operations, he introduced the number of seats and flights in May-June and the further increase in July-August (146 flights in July and 222 in August), which will bring back many scheduled flights with more seats. He added, “We will enter a period of full-scale promotions, campaigns, and recovery from summer.” “We hope for deregulation of waterfront measures on the Japanese side, and we will continue to work together with you to recover the market through continued government-to-government communication,” he said.
He said that while ESTA, negative PCR test certificates, and affidavits are still required for travel, “it will be important to disseminate correct information” in response to ever-changing information, and that a unified platform is also needed, although each travel agency and airline company has its own platform. He said that the CDC in the U.S., based on information from experts, has begun to consider whether or not to eliminate PCR testing by the end of the year. There is a possibility that they will be eliminated by the end of the year.
© Source travel watch
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