MAY 27, 1983

Hawaii stands to gain — not lose — from the efforts of nations in Asia and the Pacific to improve tourism, Gov. George Ariyoshi said yesterday.

Ariyoshi, who returned last week from an Asian trip, told members of the Japan-America Society of Honolulu that the United States and Japan should do all they can to maintain friendly relations with the developing nations of the Pacific.

He said Hawaii can play a role in helping other countries develop their potential, especially in the field of tourism.

Ariyoshi said that when he met with Taiwan Prime Minister Sun Yun-suan earlier this month, the premier was at first reluctant to ask for Hawaii’s help in building up tourism because he felt that Taiwan was in competition with Hawaii for international tourists.

Ariyoshi had a similar experience with Indonesian President Suharto, who also is interested in tapping Hawaii’s expertise to improve his country’s tourism industry.

"My response to both President Suharto and Premier Sun of Taiwan was that Hawaii was not afraid of competition," Ariyoshi said in an off-the-cuff luncheon speech.

"We do not feel that this kind of competition is going to be harmful to us. Rather, to get more people to become tourists and to travel abroad would make it possible for us to draw from a great number of people who would someday be coming to Hawaii."

Ariyoshi said Suharto surprised him by expressing an interest in alternate-energy research being conducted in Hawaii.

"I was flabbergasted to have the president of a country from whom we buy a lot of crude oil asking about alternate, renewable sources of energy," he said.

Suharto, who visited Hawaii in October, told Ariyoshi in Jakarta that Indonesia wants to develop alternate, renewable energy sources for domestic use so it can continue selling crude oil abroad.

Ariyoshi said he would have more to say about Hawaii’s future role as a regional center for alternate energy and high technology research at a state-sponsored symposium and workshop next week.