Even with visitor arrivals and the U.S. economy on the decline, tourism officials need to focus on hiring and keeping good workers, industry officials stressed yesterday.

Hawai'i's visitor industry workforce was the focus of a meeting yesterday of the Pacific Asia Travel Association at the Hawai'i Prince Hotel in Waikiki.

The dean of the University of Hawai'i-Manoa School of Travel Industry Management described the effort as a "talent war," with companies fighting to find the best people for the jobs.

"A host of problems in recruiting and developing talent are converging to create a perfect storm," said Dean Walter Jamieson.

He said more sophisticated travelers want to sample the culture of the places they go. Meanwhile, industry realities for workers include: a culture of doing more with less, high turnover, poor pay, low status and antisocial working hours.

"Please don't plan to have a social life," Jamieson quipped, with jobs that demand evening, weekend and holiday shifts.

He said some companies are cross-training people to help keep them. For example, a hotel could assign a worker to three days a week at the front desk and two in sales.

And Jamieson cautioned that in an industry that relies on the human touch, there should be some caution in embracing too much technology.

He referred to hotels converting to kiosks and computer check-ins that present as a selling point that visitors never have to talk to a person.

"I think that's pretty sad," Jamieson said, but noted that his objection might be generational and his children and their peers may have a different reaction.

Meanwhile, the latest data show Hawai'i's tourism industry is facing declining arrivals and hotel occupancy.

"Depending on who you listen to, we've got a tough 18 to 24 months ahead of us," Jamieson said.

Ron Umehira, who leads the Hospitality and Tourism program at Kapi'olani Community College, said cultural and language components have become increasingly important in training front-line workers in the visitor industry.

With 62 percent of Hawai'i tourists coming back for repeat visits, authentic cultural experiences become more important.

"They want to hear the Hawaiian language," Umehira said. "They want to learn about culture."

Konrad Talon said his exposure to the industry as a high school junior on Maui was shaped by the Academy of Hospitality and Tourism, which reaches out through six public schools statewide.

Talon said he planned to go from high school to work as his parents had done before him. But his internships with Aloha Airlines and the Maui Prince Hotel helped change his mind.

He graduated in 2005, started at Maui Community College and this year is transferring to UH-Manoa. He said he is "first in his family to attend college."