Few in Hawai'i's visitor industry expect the London terrorist plot will touch off a frenzy of cancellations, and some believe Island tourism stands to benefit as cautious travelers opt to stay in the U.S.

"Travelers may think twice about going to international destinations, but because Hawai'i is still seen as an exotic location, may opt for us rather than Europe or some other areas," said David Uchiyama, spokesman for Starwood Hotels & Resorts in Hawai'i.

Tourism officials yesterday said they haven't heard of any visitors canceling trips to Hawai'i.

"But it is too soon to tell," said John Monahan, president and CEO of the Hawai'i Visitors & Convention Bureau, the state's marketing contractor to North America. "This is less than 24 hours old."

"If we saw a definite effect on the bookings to Hawai'i ... we would react," Monahan said.

The thwarted plot did slow movement through airports as screeners had to check for newly banned liquids and gels. Authorities told passengers to arrive three hours ahead for international or Mainland flights and at least an hour and a half ahead for interisland flights.

'WE'RE ALL GUESSING'

Hawai'i Tourism Authority President and CEO Rex Johnson said he doesn't expect the delays will persuade travelers to stay home.

"Will people forsake airplane travel? I don't think so," Johnson said. "It could be that kind of thing where, 'Gee, I just don't want to get on an airliner,' and it could have that particular effect of, 'Gee, Hawai'i is a nice, safe destination.'

"We don't know. We're all guessing."

If there ever was a time when the tourism industry could endure an unexpected drop in arrivals, this would be it.

Hawai'i is on track this year to surpass 2005's record of 7.46 million visitor arrivals. The pumped-up demand has allowed hotels to charge record-high room rates. For many retailers and restaurants, the only problem is hiring enough employees to keep up with the flood of tourists.

Ed Hubennette, Marriott International's vice president of Japan, Hawai'i and the South Pacific, said he didn't think the increased threat level and security would hurt Hawai'i tourism. He noted that travelers are accustomed to dealing with security issues.

"I don't think that the additional security issues are going to make anybody not fly," he said.

OUTRIGGER OPTIMISTIC

Outrigger Enterprises Group also doesn't expect major cancellations because of the terror threat.

"In a sense, it's kind of good news, number one, that nothing happened, that authorities were able to take action before an event rather than after," said Barry Wallace, Outrigger's executive vice president of hospitality services. "We're hopeful that there won't be any significant long-term impact on travel to Hawai'i."

Sharon Weiner, DFS U.S. Group vice president, said it's unclear what effect the terrorist plot will have on Japanese travelers.

"It won't help," she said. "The target is flights to America, so that could have an emotional effect, a psychological effect on anybody traveling into this country from a foreign country. On the other hand, it's from Europe, it's not from Asia."

"Hopefully, after Sept. 11 people are realizing that these things will happen and it's safe to travel anyway. I'm getting on a plane tomorrow."

The industry was alerted to the foiled terrorist plot late Wednesday night and immediately took action to help ease the impact on visitors.

HVCB and its island chapters disseminated information about the threat level and security measures to thousands of accommodations and businesses across the state at about 10 p.m., Monahan said.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.