Hawaii visitor industry managers to get Japan tutorial

Twenty Hawaii visitor industry managers are flying to Japan on Wednesday to learn how to provide better customer service to Japa­nese visitors, who make up about 40 percent of the tourism in Waikiki. The one-week business trip to Japan is a continuation of the training program launched by the Japan Hawaii Travel Association in August in response to complaints from Japa­nese visitors that the quality of service in Hawaii was not meeting their standards. In Japan the group will visit hotels and listen to presentations by top executives from firms including  Prince Hotels, Japan Airlines, Japan Rail and IBM.

Meanwhile, a supplemental program begins this week on Oahu as 60 travel industry students from Hawaii Pacific University will conduct secret shopper surveys of hotels, retailers and transportation companies.