Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 11, 1 November 1995 — Time to promote "new Hawaiʻi" [ARTICLE]

Time to promote "new Hawaiʻi"

The main eoneem for the people in Hawai'i is "budget crisis." The state economy is apparently suffering. The state cannot survive without cutting the expenses. But. ean we just cut the expenses and wait for the crisis to disappear? Definitely not! Hawai'i has to find some other ways to increase revenues instead of just thinking about cutting expenses. Hawai'i must find some other way to get away from these dark tunnels. Currently, one-third of Hawai'i's annual gross state products are generated from tourism. There is no doubt that the tourist industry is one of the major sources of ineome in Hawai'i. Then why don't we pro-

mote tourism? It is true that the number of tourists has been declining for the past three years. The recent eeonomie uncertainty and changes in visitor behavior are affecting tourism. The concept of BCD: Beautiful beaches, blue sky, culture and danger-free places alone do not work anymore. I recommend promoting the image of new Hawai'i with "ABC." The "annual event" like the Honolulu Marathon, the "big shopping center" like Waikele and the "convention center." Promoting these attractions is one way to help Hawai'i gain popularity. Along with the image of good old Hawai'i it is time for Hawai'i to introduce the image of new Hawai'i to facilitate the economy. Lynn S. Saito Honolulu