GW 2022 Hawaii: smaller bump than expected

[thomas]

It was a glimmer of hope for Japanese airlines but also for the Hawaiian tourist industry: after encouraging demand for flights to Hawaii during the Golden Week holiday period, Japan Airlines Co. (JAL) and ANA Holdings Inc. are hoping the outbound rise will help fill some of the gaps from Japan's ongoing ban on foreign tourist arrivals. Hawaii saw a bump in Japanese visitors flying in for GW for the first time since the pandemic started, but the number is small when compared to 2019 numbers.

An upswing in demand for flights to Hawaii, a long-favored destination for many Japanese, is seen as a bellwether for the overall travel sector. It also shows that the airlines are keen to capitalize on pent up demand - even though higher fuel costs, a weak yen and expensive testing requirements are driving up costs for travelers. [...] Last year, just 510,000 Japanese went abroad, according to government statistics, down from more than 20 million in 2019. But international bookings before the start of the Golden Week holidays surged: At ANA they jumped more than fivefold and JAL more than fourfold, the airlines said before the start of the holidays. ANA said it aims to bring back more flights to Los Angeles, New York and other destinations popular with Japanese tourists. There are also hopes a ban on inbound tourists could be lifted soon after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday that border measures would be reviewed next month.

For Japan's hard-hit airlines, demand for Hawaii flights offers glimmer of hope

An upswing in demand for flights to Hawaii, a long-favored destination for many Japanese, is seen as a bellwether for the overall travel sector.

www.japantimes.co.jp

To get to Hawaii and back, Japanese visitors still face a lot of hurdles. "One is that the Japanese government only allows so many people back through the country per day," said Jerry Agrusa, a travel professor at the University of Hawaii. "That's at 10,000. They raised it from 7,000, about eight days ago." The American dollar also hit a 20-year-high to the yen. "It went up to 130 yen to the dollar yesterday, that's very high," said Agrusa. Businesses aren't too hopeful about a strong return right now.

Hawaii’s Golden Week bump in Japanese arrivals far shy of pre-pandemic numbers

To get to Hawaii and back, Japanese visitors still face a lot of hurdles.

www.hawaiinewsnow.com

 

[johnnyG]

It was maybe four years ago now, I paid a premium for a direct JAL r/t to kailua-kona on the big island (long since discontinued). Skipping the typical honolulu transfer (both ways) was well worth it. Flight time was effectively the same, but no transfer meant cutting 4-6hrs off the overall time required, each way. (And depending on arr/dep times, sometimes an overnight in Honolulu is necessary.)

But hawaii politics--the pressure is for as much money as possible to flow thru honolulu rather than skipping it for the outer islands.