THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

73

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE RESOLUTION

 

Urging the establishment of annual concerts at the aloha stadium by japanese pop groups to attract young japanese fans and their parents as visitors to hawaii.

 

 

WHEREAS, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and the subsequent war against terrorism have had a disastrous effect on tourism worldwide; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's economy is heavily dependent on tourism, and our economic recovery is uncertain; and

WHEREAS, during the week following September 11, approximately 9,500 Japanese travelers canceled travel plans to the United States and Canada; and the number of Japanese overseas travelers in November 2001 was nearly forty-two per cent less than the previous year; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii must not only assure potential visitors that travel to Hawaii is safe, we also must provide new reasons to visit Hawaii and reach new target populations; and

WHEREAS, the success of a few recent concerts performed in Hawaii by Japanese music groups points to these events as a way to attract new Japanese travelers to Hawaii; and young fans are more likely to be persuaded to visit Hawaii to attend a concert by their favorite music group than by listening to reassurances from government officials that travel to Hawaii is safe; and

WHEREAS, Namie Amuro, a young Japanese pop star who held her first American concert at the Honolulu Shell in May 2000, lured several thousand Japanese visitors who bought tickets for the Honolulu concert from Japanese travel agencies; and

WHEREAS, in the next month, June 2000, the Japanese popular surf band Tube was the first Asian group to play a concert at the Aloha Stadium and boosted Hawaii tourism by attracting more than thirteen thousand fans from Japan; and

WHEREAS, Governor Benjamin Cayetano's office estimated Tube's fans added almost $20,000,000 to Hawaii's economy; and

WHEREAS, Arashi, Japan's top teen band, will hold several concerts in the islands in March 2002, participating in a state-sponsored campaign to promote Hawaii tourism; promoters are expecting approximately four thousand Japanese fans to visit Hawaii to attend a concert; and Arashi will produce several television ads promoting Hawaii that will be aired in Japan; and

WHEREAS, concerts in Hawaii by top Japanese teen bands may attract not only their young Japanese fans, but also their fans' parents; and

WHEREAS, the positive economic impact created by a small number of Hawaii concerts by Japanese performers indicates that fans of certain Japanese groups may be a potential visitor population Hawaii should reach out to; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2002, that concert promoters, state officials, and tourism industry officials are respectfully urged to work together in collaboration and cooperation to encourage and assist in securing and promoting future concerts of Japanese pop groups at the Aloha Stadium to attract young Japanese travelers and their parents to visit Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the parties consider establishing annual concert events, providing discount rates for the concert venue, partnerships with airlines to provide discount airfares to attend concerts, media coverage, and promotional ads made by the performers while in Hawaii to be distributed in Japan; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor of the State of Hawaii; the Director of Business, Economic Development and Tourism; the Chairperson of the Stadium Authority; the Chairperson of the Hawaii Tourism Authority Board of Directors; the Executive Director of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau; the President of Japan Air Lines; and Mr. Tom Moffat.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Tourism Promotion; Japanese Pop Concert