2019 — the year before the COVID global travel halt — was the banner year for Japanese visitors to Hawaii: nearly 2 million.

To highlight Japanese visitors’ importance to Hawaii, Gov. Josh Green’s first post-election trip in 2022 was to Japan to lobby for Japanese tourists to visit Hawaii.

The same month of the governor’s trip, 27,000 Japanese visitors arrived in Hawaii, compared to 132,000 visitors in November 2019 — a staggering 80% drop. Japanese spending vanished — $2.2 billion in 2019 — hurting Hawaii hotels, retail shops, restaurants and real estate.

In spring 2023, Hawaii CEOs ask: “Where are the Japanese visitors?” Three macro-reasons are:

Cost-of-living and inflation. For decades Japanese workers have not seen any wage increases. Food prices have increased, a 40-year high inflation rate. Cheap Hawaii air tickets disappeared as airlines added fuel surcharges. Japanese families are worried about increasing prices (and static salary), so an overseas vacation is a challenging budget item.

Yen depreciation vis-à-vis dollar. In 2019, the average dollar-yen rate was $1 to ¥109. Last year when the yen dropped to ¥150 to $1, a Japanese blogger wrote about his shock buying a ¥900 Spam musubi in Waikiki. A McDonald’s Big Mac in Tokyo is today ¥450 or $3.33 ($1 = ¥135 currently). In Hawaii, a Big Mac costs $5.31 or ¥716 — a 45% difference! Hawaii for Japanese became what Americans once thought of Tokyo: expensive.

COVID travel phobia. In a recent survey, 35% of Japanese respondents said they were unwilling to travel ever again, the highest number of any country survey. Due to COVID overseas travel restrictions, Japanese rediscovered Japan, like Okinawa’s beaches. Overseas travel became “mendokusai” (or a “hassle”).

For the Japan Visitor Strategy Version 2.0, the state can execute the following:

Hawaii “face” for Japan. A Japan marketing “czar” reporting to the governor can coordinate tour firms, airlines and social media for consistent Hawaii tourism “branding”; this role “shows” that the state takes Japanese tourism seriously.

Customer service. During the COVID tourism shutdown, many Waikiki hotel old-timers left — and never returned. Japanese visitors expect a high level of customer service. The Hawaii hospitality industry must train current staff in Japanese-style customer service, like “kikubari,” the art of anticipating customer needs. Won’t Japanese (or anybody) travel to a destination resort with top global customer service rankings?

Japanese-speaking staff. Japanese visitors are overjoyed by Hawaii hotel staff speaking Japanese. The Hawaii hospitality industry must increase Japanese-speaking staff numbers, but there is a disconnect with Japanese language teaching. Japanese remains the top foreign language at public schools (my alma mater Farrington High School has 160 students studying Japanese): Why not match students with Japanese visitors for language and cultural exchanges, and “connect” youth to the hospitality industry?

Authentic (cheap) experiences. More than 700,000 Japanese study hula and Hawaiian music. Why aren’t there inexpensive concerts with local musicians in Waikiki? Kumu hula who visit their Japan-based hula halau can be Hawaii tourism ambassadors. Social media can list “free” or “discounted” visitor attractions, so Hawaii loses its “expensive” image.

Japan-Hawaii business. Airlines make profits from business-class fares, and this increases tourist seat capacity. Hawaii must study other regions that attract Japanese investors. Recently, Toyota and Fujifilm expanded operations in North Carolina; the North Carolina State University “Japan Center” provides business support for local startups and Japanese firms. Hawaii must reclaim the Japan-business “bridge” leadership.

Wishing for Japanese visitors to return to Hawaii will not yield results. The state must promote a “Hawaii Version 2.0” to attract Japanese economic infusion in both tourist spending and business investments to create and sustain jobs for the Hawaii workforce.