H.I.S. Hawaii Corp., the state’s second-largest travel seller to Japanese inbound visitors, is now looking to be the one-stop shop for tours from Hawaii to Japan.
While the company is projecting significant growth in its inbound bookings from Japan, which increased 20 percent in 2012 over 2011, the company also is bullish on its emerging outbound market. To that end, H.I.S. has opened a third Hawaii location at 1046 Bishop St., Suite A. It also announced a partnership with Scott Suzui, host of "Ultimate Japan," a popular travel show on OC16, to officially launch the company’s We Go Japan! campaign to promote outbound tours. Suzui also owns Tenkaippin Ramen restaurant on Kapahulu Avenue.
The May opening of the company’s downtown branch, its first expansion since 2008, is expected to help the company sell more local corporate incentive travel and group business tours to Japan, said Shinji Wabiko, outbound manager for H.I.S. Hawaii Corp. The company also plans to develop tours for local foodies, adventure seekers, sake lovers, sports enthusiasts and those who want to volunteer, visit relatives or get in touch with their roots, Wabiko said.
"Our inbound is very strong. Now we want to expand our local presence," he said. "We’ve seen signs that tour group travel companies, who handle everything from air tickets to accommodations and activities, are making a comeback."
New Hawaiian Airlines flights to Japan also have increased the company’s potential to capitalize on the outbound market, said Shirley Kobayashi, an account executive for H.I.S. Hawaii Corp.
"Even after the earthquake people didn’t stay home. They wanted to volunteer," Kobayashi said.
With Hawaiian’s expansion into Sendai, Kobayashi is working with H.I.S. in Tohoku to create more volunteer tours to the region.
"We’ll try to offer this tour once or twice a month for a whole year," she said.
THE COMPANY, which employs 170 people in Hawaii and has more than 272 retail stores in Japan, is uniquely positioned to capture outbound growth to Japan from Hawaii, Kobayashi said.
"Our staff is knowledgeable and available to assist travelers whenever, wherever," she said.
Because of the company’s relationship with airline partners, Wabiko said H.I.S. also is able to offer Hawaii travelers extremely low fares to Japan to fill seats on the empty legs of charter flights during the most popular travel periods for visitors from Japan to Hawaii. Indeed, the company’s downtown branch has kicked off its summer outbound tours with a $398 fare to Osaka for travel between Aug. 11 and 15. Other August airfare promotions already have sold out, including the Suzui tour, which sold for $1,598 and included everything from airfare to hotel, food and tours.
"It sold out fast. I’m kind of bummed that we have had to turn people away, but I think we’ll do more tours," said Suzui, who hopes to offer two H.I.S. tours a year.
Suzui, who debuts new "Ultimate Japan" episodes each Sunday at 9:30 p.m., said he is excited about including Hawaii travelers on his upcoming visit to Osaka.
"I’m hoping to do at least five shows from Osaka, so it should be a really good memory for people to see their experiences aired on TV," he said.
Suzui said his objective in partnering with H.I.S. is to augment his show and provide an affordable, safe and comfortable travel experience for Hawaii people. Episodes from the trip, which will include a tour of Osaka Castle, a stay in an onsen in Wakayama and several unique food stops, will air about three to four months after the tour.
