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Posted on March 17, 2001
Changes in visitor industry present unique challenges
By Bob Golfen
Special to The Advertiser
Slow growth in the tourism industry and changes in tourists' spending habits have Hawai'i retailers looking for new ways to catch the eye and open the pocketbooks of visitors, especially those from Japan.
"We have sort of taken the Japanese customer for granted, and we can't do that anymore," said Doug Smoyer, president of the consulting firm Retail Strategies. "We have to see how we can cater to them."
Smoyer served as a moderator for yesterday's spring meeting of the International Council of Shopping Centers, which focused on the changing face of tourism, especially how it relates to spending on Hawai'i products, gifts and souvenirs.
Using statistics and information about the latest trends in tourism and retailing, panelists presented a broad program – it ranged from retail trends in Japan to the boom in worldwide eco-tourism – designed to help the store and shopping-center owners and executives anticipate the changing market and act accordingly.
Among the trends presented at the meeting:
- Tourism from Japan is slowly rebounding, but not to the record levels of 1997. The percentage of Japanese visitors declined from 32 percent of the market in '97 to 26.6 percent in 2000.
- More tourists are coming from the East Coast of the United States. These are more conservative shoppers who may not be interested in the current range of Hawai'i goods.
- All tourists are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their spending choices, and more conscious of price and quality than before.
- Cruise-ship vacations are increasing rapidly and having a greater effect on retailers. Some of the people at the meeting said they are having a difficult time attracting the ship passengers to their stores consistently.
- The most successful marketing ventures are those that directly tie retailing with tourist attractions and activities, often through innovative methods.
Highlighting the presentation was a keynote address by Sharon Weiner, group vice president of DFS Galleria, the recently opened Waikiki retail complex that features a walk-through aquarium and duty-free store at the top of what looks like a vintage cruise ship.
"We're bringing back the romance of old Waikiki," Weiner said.
Despite the successful renovation of the famous strip, Weiner said, Waikiki still lacks an attraction to make it a destination and to keep people in the area.
"There is no major entertainment feature in Waikiki," she said, noting that there is no space to build a "Las Vegas style show room" in the retail area.
Clint Taylor, president of Taylor Consultants and an expert on cruise lines and the shipping industry, said that because cruiseship passengers are expected to quadruple in the coming years, Hawai'i needs to spend about $75 million to $80 million to upgrade harbors and docksides. So far, about $25 million has been set aside by the state, he added, but much more needs to be done.
Because of the critical importance of Japanese tourism to retail sales, Hawai'i merchants would do well to study retail trends in Japan, including the latest in discount fashions, said David Erdman, president of PacRim Marketing Group. That's the only way to anticipate how the consumers will respond to Hawai'i stores and products.
And Hawai'i needs to get the word out to every market that there have been many improvements to the basic Hawaii experience, he said.
"The destination is not changing dramatically, but a lot interesting things are going on," Erdman said. "We have to get the word out." |
