Hawaii taps pent up demand in Taiwan
Hawaii is anticipating a major influx of visitors from Taiwan after it became the latest Asian nation to be granted a US visa waiver, prompting Hawaiian Airlines to add Taipei to its network.
Hawaiian Airlines yesterday announced plans to launch nonstop service between Taipei and Honolulu in July 2013, further extending the airline’s strategic expansion into Asia and paving a path for US bound tourists.
According to the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA), the economic impact of restoring nonstop services from Taipei will be significant for the US island state.
“This new nonstop service connecting Taiwan and Honolulu following Taiwan’s entrance to the US Visa Waiver Program will help to expand the vastly growing the ‘Other’ Asia market,” commented Mike McCartney, President and CEO of the HTA.
“We anticipate reaching 10,642 visitors from Taiwan in 2012 and this new flight will help to further increase arrivals from this region.”
This optimistic forecast is based on the double-digit growth in tourist arrivals from Korea after non-stop services were established between Seoul and Honolulu when it too was included in the waiver programme.
Commenting on events, Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian’s President and CEO, said; “We have long known that there is demand for a Hawai‘i vacation in Taiwan, but visits have been impeded by the cost, complexity and time it has taken its citizens to apply for a US visitor visa. Now that Taiwan is part of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, we are delighted to be adding Taipei as the latest city in Hawaiian’s growing Asia network.”
Hawaiian will operate the Taipei-Honolulu route three times per week using its new 294-seat, wide-body Airbus A330-200 aircraft, adding nearly 46,000 new air seats to the market annually to the benefit of Hawai‘i’s visitor industry.
As a result, Taipei will be the ninth new gateway that Hawaiian has introduced or announced new service to since November 2010, following Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Sapporo, Seoul, New York City, Brisbane, and Auckland, which launched on 13 March next year.