Tourism funds buoy isle activities
More than 100 events, sports competitions and programs statewide will receive money from the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s County Product Enrichment Program, which supports efforts to make Hawaii a better place to visit and live.
Beneficiaries were chosen by the HTA, the state’s tourism agency, in partnership with the City and County of Honolulu and the counties of Hawaii, Maui and Kauai. Through CPEP the four counties receive HTA funding and other resources for tourism product enrichment activities to support projects in the niche areas of agri-tourism, cultural tourism, eco-tourism, edu-tourism, health and wellness tourism, sports tourism and techno-tourism in their respective counties.
Honolulu activities that were funded include events like the Narcissus Festival, the Lei Day Celebration, the International Dragonboat Festival and Competition, the Haleiwa Arts Festival, the Filipino Fiesta, the Korean Festival, the Okinawan Festival, the Waimanalo Country Fair, the Rice Fest, the Waikiki Spam Jam, Duke’s Oceanfest and the Molokai 2 Oahu World Paddleboard Championships.
Retail sales forecast to rise 3.4%
NEW YORK » The nation’s largest retail trade group expects a solid 3.4 percent increase in sales this year, below last year’s 4.7 percent increase as job woes weigh on shoppers.
Sales should reach $2.53 trillion in 2012, up from last year’s $2.45 trillion, boosted in part by higher prices across all goods, according to a report today from the National Retail Federation.
The 3.4 percent bump would still outpace the 10-year annual average increase of almost 3.1 percent and would also mark a third consecutive year of recovery for consumer spending.
