A good time to invest in Waikiki

Hawaii’s tourism is rebounding strongly from the national recession and it is encouraging that after lengthy caution, vigorous investment to improve the industry’s core of Waikiki is moving apace with the growth trend. Hilton Hawaiian Village has embarked on ambitious improvements, and a 26-story tower has been approved as a wing of the Moana Surfrider Hotel, the first Waikiki oceanfront hotel to be erected in more than 30 years. The corporate actions are a wise response to — and are helping to spur — the rising tourist numbers.

Tourism in Hawaii recently entered record territory, with visitor arrivals and spending during the first 11 months of last year having broken an annual record set in 2007, the Hawaii Tourism Authority reported. Visitors spent $1.1 billion in November, increasing the year-to-date total to $12.9 billion, passing the all-time full annual record of $12.6 billion set in 2007 before the recession hit.

Hilton announced last August that it would add two towers with 550 time-share units at its 22-acre Hawaiian Village at a price of $700 million, along with new swimming pools, parking and expanded retail area. The 37-story tower is planned for completion in 2015 and the 25-story building five or six years later.

That’s all on the way, even as the village’s just-completed $25.5 million refurbishment of its Alii Tower records higher volumes of repeat reservations.

The improvements have included new finishes, furnishings and reconfiguration of some suites. Upgrades of the tower’s second-floor Ocean View Terrace are scheduled for completion in May.

Such revitalization of Waikiki is welcome — indeed, necessary — if Hawaii hopes to attract loyal returnees, as well as new visitors from emerging markets like China, Korea and Taiwan who are accustomed to fresher properties.

Along those lines, Kyo-ya Hotel & Resorts gained approval by the city Zoning Board of Appeals last August to replace an eight-story wing of the Moana Surfrider with the taller building, despite concerns from community and environmental groups. The company says it is part of a plan to spend $1 billion to renovate or replace each of its properties in Waikiki, including Sheraton Waikiki, Royal Hawaiian Resort, Princess Kaiulani Hotel, Ainahau Tower and a new 34-story Pikake tower.

Waikiki clearly remains crucial to the state’s economy, comprising nearly half of the state’s daily tourist count and 6.5 percent of its entire gross domestic product. Its less than one square mile is responsible for 40.8 percent of all the tourism-related jobs, according to Mike McCartney, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

Recognition of Waikiki’s ongoing value was underscored during last fall’s Waikiki 20/20 Conference, which gathered more than 400 participants to come up with goals for the next 20 years for Hawaii’s largest tourist destination. A just-released survey taken at that event indicates strong support for tourism growth and for significant outlays to improve Waikiki’s public spaces and infrastructure.

Further, the necessity to continually refresh Waikiki comes into sharper relief with each major development in Hawaii’s tourism landscape. For instance: Hawaiian Airlines this week announced that it will be buying 25 new long-range aircraft between 2017 and 2020 — mainly for nonstop flights between the neighbor islands and the 10 West Coast cities it already serves. And that’s sure to steer some visitor traffic away from Oahu.

Clearly, Hawaii’s tourism is rebounding from the recession and companies are gearing up for the years ahead. For Waikiki and other local destinations, vision and reinvestment will be needed more than ever before to compete with blossoming vacation locations around the world.