Tourism

I am working hard to promote tourism, Hawaii’s number one industry, and finding ways for Hawaii to take advantage of the expanding international visitor market. According to the Hawaii Tourism Authority , 152,000 Hawaii residents – about 19% of Hawaii’s workforce were employed by the tourism industry in 2010. The same group found that visitor spending accounted for 16% of Hawaii’s GDP – a total of $11 billion.

Hawaii is in a prime location to take advantage of expanding international markets in Asia and across the globe. But in many of these markets, demand for trips to Hawaii is kept low by our restrictive and lengthy visitor visa process. China is a good example of this. According to the Chairman of the China National Tourism Administration, if visa hassles were reduced and direct flights were increased between the US and China, the US could see 5 million more visitors each year by 2015. That’s why I introduced VISIT USA as a member of the House of Representatives, a bill that could generate $270 million in Hawaii employee earnings by easing visa hassles for Chinese visitors and bring an estimated 200,000 more visitors to our great state. In the Senate, I am working closely with the Obama administration to find ways to increase the number of Chinese visitors who can come to this country.

During the Senate Judiciary Committee’s immigration reform debate, I was able to get included a small change to the visa waiver system could have a big impact on Hawaii’s economy. By making Hong Kong eligible for the Visa Waiver Program, we can make it easier for thousands of tourists from this region to come to Hawaii.

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