Friday, November 24, 2023
Hawaii mulls plans to boost tourism to the islands for tourists from Japan.
Japan has been the top international visitor market for Hawaii.
As tourism from Japan has been sluggish since the COVID-19 pandemic, the island took this initiative.
Hawaii leaders want to make it easier for tourists from Japan to visit the US state. They wanted to do so by creating a pre-clearance program.
This will be allowing travellers from the country to save time at the Honolulu airport. It will be by completing immigration, customs and agricultural inspections before departure.
Gov. Josh Green and other state officials proposed the idea during a recent visit to Tokyo.
Green hopes the program will help boost tourism to the islands, news media reported Tuesday.
Hawaii is keen on bringing more travellers from Japan back because tourists know how to carry themselves in Hawaii.
Green said this using the Hawaiian word for land.
A pre-clearance program, which was on the dstate of discussion for many years, could open direct routes to other islands, including Maui, Green said.
Soon after a deadly wildfire wiped out much of the west Maui town of Lahaina, the Japan government donated $2 million in humanitarian aid.
State House Speaker Scott Saiki, who joined Green on the trip, said Japan officials were concerned about how much the program would cost and how it would be implemented and enforced.
Green said he will ask Hawaii’s delegation in US Congress to help make the program possible.
Tags: COVID-19 pandemic, hawaii, International, Tourism
Monday, January 1, 2024
