The Honolulu Festival, a cultural exchange celebrating Japan and the Pacific Rim, will return in March, and for the first time in its 29-year history will charge admission for adults to enter the exhibition hall on the ground floor of the Hawai‘i Convention Center, where a majority of the events are taking place.
It’s a sign of these higher-priced times and of the festival’s commitment to continue returning year after year while maintaining a high standard of quality.
Honolulu Festival Foundation President Ted Kubo said, “Our Foundation’s goal is for the Honolulu Festival to be a sustainable celebration and continue presenting popular events every year that the public enjoys so much, like the Grand Parade and Nagaoka Fireworks Show. This admission fee for adults will help make that possible.”
Online pre-sale one-day ticket prices are $8 for adults and $6 for seniors who are 65 and over. Two-day tickets are $12 for adults and $9 for seniors. Prices at the door are $10 per day for adults and $8 for seniors.
The festival, which takes place March 7-9, has long showcased the cultures of the Pacific Rim and always been popular with visitors from Japan, who appreciate that the festival’s major significance is its ability to perpetuate the strong cultural ties between the Pacific Rim and Hawaii. This year’s theme, “Bridging Cultures, Together for a Peaceful Tomorrow,” reflects the quest for Pacific harmony as well as the importance of forging connections, often through travel.
“The Honolulu Festival is a treasured celebration of cultural exchange that reflects a shared commitment to be responsible global citizens and work together to strengthen the values and quality of life for future generations,” Kubo said.
Kubo said more than 150,000 attendees, including local residents, are anticipated to attend the festival, which is expected to bring at least 2,200 visitors from Japan.
Hawai‘i Tourism Japan Managing Director Eric Takahata said the Honolulu Festival’s expected attendance as well as the resurgence in participants from Japan during the Honolulu Marathon, which saw more than 10,000 participants, are positive signs.
Japan historically has been Hawaii’s top international tourism market, and in 2019 brought about 1.57 million visitors to Hawaii. The pandemic decimated the market, and in 2023 only 572,979 visitors from Japan came to Hawaii. In 2024, arrivals from Japan increased more than 22% to 720,488 visitors; however, they were still down 54.3% from 2019.
Takahata said tourism officials are projecting that Japan will return to 1 million visitors this year.
Kubo, speaking as president and CEO of JTB Hawaii Inc., said Japan business is trending up slightly for March, the festival month; however, April results are still fluid.
“April is not a very busy month, but it begins to pick up towards Golden Week,” he said. “It’s too early to say that we will have a strong Golden Week, but we are getting some bookings that are coming in with a better pace than last year.”
Golden Week is traditionally a popular travel time because visitors can maximize their vacations by planning them around a string of national holidays between April 29 and May 5.
“The days of the week aren’t ideal, but the holidays line up pretty well,” Takahata said.
He said the bigger issue in recovering arrivals from Japan is getting past sticker shock from airline seat fuel surcharges, inflation and unfavorable exchange rates.
“The exchange rate on Tuesday was 153 yen to the U.S. dollar, so it’s coming down. The last time we were at 153 was May,” Takahata said. “The travel industry is saying if we can get to the 140 yen to the U.S. dollar range, that would be great. Right now affluent travelers are coming, but we haven’t recovered the middle-class traveler.”
Kubo, speaking in his JTB role, said the company in April is launching two new value additions to its tourism packages, including an ‘Oli ‘Oli ocean playground in Hawaii Kai and a JTB-run ride-share service, which should increase flexibility and mobility for customers.
“It’s always our goal to bring up the value that we provide with tourism packages,” he said.
Kubo, speaking for the festival, said the decision to charge adults a fee for the festival’s convention center events also is about preserving value across the festival’s venues. Events at Ala Moana Center and Waikiki Beach Walk as well as the Grand Parade and Nagaoka Fireworks Show still are free.
Attendees headed to the Hawai‘i Convention Center events, which include cultural and music performances, arts, activities, exhibits and a craft fair, can pay the fee in advance — saving money and time — starting Monday at honolulufestival.book.ntmg.com.
For more information about the Honolulu Festival, go to honolulufestival.com.