Isle sees highest percentage jump in state in March

The Maui News and The Associated Press 

POSTED: April 28, 2010 

Maui island led all others in the state in drawing the highest percentage increases in visitor arrivals and in tourist spending in March, compared with the same month last year, state tourism officials said Tuesday. 

Arrivals on Maui increased 14.2 percent to 181,182, Lanai saw a 2.4 percent hike to 5,673 and Molokai was down 3.4 percent to 4,179, according to figures compiled by the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism and released by the Hawaii Tourism Authority. 

Oahu had a 9.5 percent increase in visitors in March, followed by Kauai with 8.2 percent and the Big Island with 0.2 percent. 

Statewide, nearly 608,000 people visited the islands in March, a 9.3 percent increase over the same month last year. 

Visitor spending on Maui rose 25.2 percent to $257.7 million last month. 

Tourism officials said a contributing factor to the Valley Isle’s gains was the addition of several new flights to Maui from Canada and four areas in California – Orange County, Los Angeles, San Jose and Sacramento. 

Oahu saw an 11 percent increase in visitor spending while Kauai and the Big Island each had a hike of 3.2 percent. Molokai and Lanai reported drops in visitor spending of 11.3 percent and 11.1 percent, respectively. 

Total expenditures by visitors who came by air was up 12.7 percent to $874.2 million. That was the largest increase since April 2006, when the measure grew 15.6 percent. 

Among major islands, Maui also had the most visitor per day spending in March at $175, a 9.4 percent increase over the same month in 2009. Lanai had higher daily visitor spending at $192, but that was an 18.1 percent drop for the month. Molokai reported individual visitors spend an average of $81 per person. 

On Oahu, individual visitor spending was at $168 (up 2.6 percent) in March, followed by Kauai at $147 (down 5.6 percent) and the Big Island at $141 (up 1.5 percent). 

For the first quarter of 2010, Maui island also led in visitor arrivals with an 8 percent increase to 503,116 over the same period in 2009. Oahu saw a 2.8 percent more visitors, followed by Lanai with 2.7 percent more, Kauai with 2.2 percent more, the Big Island with 1.4 percent more and Molokai with a drop of 5 percent. 

Statewide, all top four feeder markets showed gains, including a 17.3 percent jump in visitors from Canada, followed by the West Coast (9.2 percent), East Coast (7.9 percent) and Japan (6.5 percent). 

”It is encouraging to see tourism in our state stabilizing,” said Marsha Wienert, Hawaii’s tourism liaison. The increased visitor arrivals and the slightly higher spending resulted in an additional $99 million in visitor spending, which ”benefited almost every sector of our economy.” 

Tourism is the No. 1 industry in Hawaii and the economic lifeblood of the islands. Last year’s sharp drop-off in visitors stemming from the economic crisis has taken a toll on everything from jobs to tax revenues. 

For the first three months of the year, total spending statewide grew by 5 percent, or $130 million, over the same period last year to $2.7 billion. 

The number of tourists from Asian markets outside Japan rose sharply in the quarter, with the number of Koreans nearly doubling and Chinese surging 23 percent. 

”As Governor (Linda) Lingle has stated for some time, these new developing markets are key to Hawaii’s tourism future,” Wienert said. 

Mike McCartney, president and chief executive officer of the Tourism Authority, said that, as expected, pent-up demand, a rebounding economy, the visa waiver program and aggressive marketing efforts have contributed to the tremendous growth in the Korean market. 

Asians also continue to outspend other travelers by a wide margin, but they stay in Hawaii a few days less on average. 

Tourists from Japan spent $244 per person, per day in March, with Koreans at $238. That’s about $100 more per day than travelers from the West Coast ($139) or Canadians ($132). 

McCartney said even with all the positive indicators, ”we are mindful that we are coming off an especially depressed 2009, and it is important that we sustain momentum and these positive trends.” 

”We cannot let up and must continue to work even harder to drive demand to fill the additional seats we have attracted into the market, and we need to pay attention to factors such as currency exchange rates and oil prices, which directly affect people’s ability and decision to travel to Hawaii,” he said. 

Following is the April 28, 2010 Maui News and Associated Press Article:

Maui island led all others in the state in drawing the highest percentage increases in visitor arrivals and in tourist spending in March, compared with the same month last year, state tourism officials said Tuesday.

Arrivals on Maui increased 14.2 percent to 181,182, Lanai saw a 2.4 percent hike to 5,673 and Molokai was down 3.4 percent to 4,179, according to figures compiled by the state Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism and released by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

Oahu had a 9.5 percent increase in visitors in March, followed by Kauai with 8.2 percent and the Big Island with 0.2 percent.

Statewide, nearly 608,000 people visited the islands in March, a 9.3 percent increase over the same month last year.

Visitor spending on Maui rose 25.2 percent to $257.7 million last month.

Tourism officials said a contributing factor to the Valley Isle’s gains was the addition of several new flights to Maui from Canada and four areas in California – Orange County, Los Angeles, San Jose and Sacramento.

Oahu saw an 11 percent increase in visitor spending while Kauai and the Big Island each had a hike of 3.2 percent. Molokai and Lanai reported drops in visitor spending of 11.3 percent and 11.1 percent, respectively.

Total expenditures by visitors who came by air was up 12.7 percent to $874.2 million. That was the largest increase since April 2006, when the measure grew 15.6 percent.

Among major islands, Maui also had the most visitor per day spending in March at $175, a 9.4 percent increase over the same month in 2009. Lanai had higher daily visitor spending at $192, but that was an 18.1 percent drop for the month. Molokai reported individual visitors spend an average of $81 per person.

On Oahu, individual visitor spending was at $168 (up 2.6 percent) in March, followed by Kauai at $147 (down 5.6 percent) and the Big Island at $141 (up 1.5 percent).

For the first quarter of 2010, Maui island also led in visitor arrivals with an 8 percent increase to 503,116 over the same period in 2009. Oahu saw a 2.8 percent more visitors, followed by Lanai with 2.7 percent more, Kauai with 2.2 percent more, the Big Island with 1.4 percent more and Molokai with a drop of 5 percent.

Statewide, all top four feeder markets showed gains, including a 17.3 percent jump in visitors from Canada, followed by the West Coast (9.2 percent), East Coast (7.9 percent) and Japan (6.5 percent).

”It is encouraging to see tourism in our state stabilizing,” said Marsha Wienert, Hawaii’s tourism liaison. The increased visitor arrivals and the slightly higher spending resulted in an additional $99 million in visitor spending, which ”benefited almost every sector of our economy.”

Tourism is the No. 1 industry in Hawaii and the economic lifeblood of the islands. Last year’s sharp drop-off in visitors stemming from the economic crisis has taken a toll on everything from jobs to tax revenues.

For the first three months of the year, total spending statewide grew by 5 percent, or $130 million, over the same period last year to $2.7 billion.

The number of tourists from Asian markets outside Japan rose sharply in the quarter, with the number of Koreans nearly doubling and Chinese surging 23 percent.

”As Governor (Linda) Lingle has stated for some time, these new developing markets are key to Hawaii’s tourism future,” Wienert said.

Mike McCartney, president and chief executive officer of the Tourism Authority, said that, as expected, pent-up demand, a rebounding economy, the visa waiver program and aggressive marketing efforts have contributed to the tremendous growth in the Korean market.

Asians also continue to outspend other travelers by a wide margin, but they stay in Hawaii a few days less on average.

Tourists from Japan spent $244 per person, per day in March, with Koreans at $238. That’s about $100 more per day than travelers from the West Coast ($139) or Canadians ($132).

McCartney said even with all the positive indicators, ”we are mindful that we are coming off an especially depressed 2009, and it is important that we sustain momentum and these positive trends.”

”We cannot let up and must continue to work even harder to drive demand to fill the additional seats we have attracted into the market, and we need to pay attention to factors such as currency exchange rates and oil prices, which directly affect people’s ability and decision to travel to Hawaii,” he said.

By CHRIS HAMILTON, Staff Writer 

POSTED: April 11, 2010 

PUUNENE – A multimillion-dollar research project to investigate converting Hawaii’s last sugar plantation to biofuel crops could mean the end of an era of another kind: cane burning. 

Officials with Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. said last week that if the project is successful and results in the plantation converting to a green harvest method or an alternative crop, burning would no longer be necessary. In fact, HC&S General Manager Chris Benjamin said it would be desirable if the product could be harvested without burning it. 

“If we were to switch to an energy farm, it is possible our farming and harvesting methods, and processing of cane, might change in such a way as to make green harvesting feasible,” said 

Benjamin. “Our objective would be to maximize the energy potential of the crop, so we would hope to be able to bring the entire plant in for processing.” 

That would be welcome news to critics of cane burning, who say it’s ugly and environmentally harmful as well as life-threatening for residents with asthma or other respiratory illnesses. 

But the change is at least years away – if it’s going to happen at all. 

The research partnership announced last week between HC&S and state and federal agencies has a five-year timeline. And Benjamin noted that the company spent millions in the 1990s researching green harvest methods, without success. 

The company on Wednesday joined with U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye to announce that the project to research new biofuels and energy conversion technologies would receive at least $4 million in annual federal funding. 

The U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Navy (which is interested in the development of advanced new fuels) and U.S. Department of Agriculture are participating in the program, along with the University of Hawaii’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. 

The research will emphasize strategies “that ensure adequate resources and infrastructure are available to supply feedstock for biorefineries to produce diesel and jet fuels from sugars,” said U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan last week. 

It’s still early in the process, but Inouye’s spokeswoman, Jennifer Sabas, said that if the research is a success, HC&S would most likely qualify for federal capital improvement dollars to refurbish or build a new plant, a project that would probably cost hundreds of millions of dollars. 

The Navy expressed interest in HC&S producing jet fuel but isn’t limiting the company to that scope, said federal officials who were on island for the announcement last week. This is not just a plan to produce a form of fuel that already exists, they said. 

The idea is to produce “advanced biofuels and renewable energy” from sugar cane and other biomass crops that can be grown in Hawaii, Merrigan said. 

University of Hawaii College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources Dean Andrew Hashimoto said his team of up to 18 scientists will be researching new crops and technologies. The field trials will be done on Maui, and they’ve already started setting up field plots, he said. 

The entire project should be up to full speed by this fall, Hashimoto said. 

HC&S officials said they hope to spend the next two years in the research phase, and if a cost-effective crop and a plan is agreed upon, the 132-year-old company would devote the following three years to implement, including converting its mill into a state-of-the-art biofuel plant. 

On Maui, a lot of the research will be dedicated toward deciding what is the best crop to grow, Benjamin said. Officials said the company would look at plants besides sugar cane to produce the biofuels. 

For the past 30 years, typically, biofuels have been made by either fermenting sugars for ethanol or using natural oils in palm nuts, soybeans, mustard seeds or jatropha to produce biodiesel and jet fuel. 

However, there have been sweeping advancements in recent years that have resulted in a much greater variety of fuels that can be produced from more kinds of plants with less waste, and a significant reduction in the amount of greenhouse gases generated by the process, plan proponents said. 

“I don’t think they’ll end up with cane as their crop,” predicted Mayor Charmaine Tavares, a biofuel advocate who has said her goal is for Maui to meet 95 percent of its energy needs from renewable and sustainable sources by 2020. 

She said she likes the partnership plan “because the feds are helping with the risky part, the research.” 

Tavares said she was enthusiastic about the project because of its potential to reduce Maui’s dependence on imported fuel and help a major island employer survive for the long-term. 

“I’m pleased that the future of one of our community’s oldest companies can be supported by innovative and forward-thinking opportunities,” Tavares said. “Preserving agriculture, keeping jobs and advancing renewable energy is a win-win situation for Maui.” 

She was less swayed by the cane burning issue. 

“I think a lot of the people who complain the most about the cane (burning) boils down to whether you grew up with it or not,” said Tavares, who spent part of her own youth on a sugar plantation. 

The sight of the sugar mill’s billowing smokestack may someday soon be a relic as well, Benjamin said. 

The company hopes to create biofuels so advanced that existing engines would require little to no conversion technology in order to use them, he said. Benjamin also left the door open for HC&S to produce liquid fuels that would keep it in the electricity-production business. 

That would spell an end to the current method of burning leftover, ground-up cane stalks, called bagasse, to make steam electricity. Today, HC&S provides 7 percent of Maui Electric Co.’s electricity with bagasse. 

“There are other forms of biomass conversion technologies under development that could be more efficient and environmentally friendly,” Benjamin said. 

Another goal of the research is to find a way to continue the long practice of HC&S selling byproducts, such as molasses and cane tops, for feed to Maui’s ranchers. 

Finally, as part of the entire energy farm concept, Benjamin said HC&S plans to evaluate solar and wind energy projects on its acreage but will focus on generator power instead, which is available day or night, windy or calm. 

Last week’s partnership announcement also has the potential to influence a case on HC&S’s water rights, people on both sides of the issue said. 

Disputes over water use between the company and Native Hawaiians and environmental groups are pending before the state Commission on Water Resource Management. HC&S now uses an average of 200 million gallons a day diverted from East and Central Maui streams. 

Faced with years of large negative financial balances and the potential loss of at least 35 million gallons a day, company officials have said a decision against them could result in the shutdown of sugar production. 

HC&S officials and Inouye said the company probably needs at least the water it already has to be successful in this new venture. 

Earthjustice attorney Isaac Moriwake, who is heading the effort to return HC&S water back to Na Wai Eha’s four streams in Central Maui, said he was disappointed to hear that Inouye was buying HC&S’ “all or nothing” argument for keeping its water supply. 

“It’s good to see HC&S is finally starting to look to the future, instead of clinging to its past,” he said. 

“In addition to alternative crops, (HC&S) should move on to responsible alternatives to draining Maui’s rivers and streams, like fixing its leaky system and using its agricultural wells and reclaimed water from the county,” Moriwake said. 

Both sides said they wonder whether the state water commission will take into consideration this latest announcement when rendering its final decisions, which are expected in May. 

* Chris Hamilton can be reached at chamilton@mauinews.com. 

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(New)=New Additions to List,  Vac=Vacation Rentals allowed in project Y=Yes, N=No  Mak=Makena,  W= Wailea,  SK= South Kihei,  NK= North Kihei,  M= Maalaea 

OBTAINED FROM MONEY MATTERS, MAUI NEWS, APRIL 14, 2010

Hawaiian plans to continue expanding its work force of 4,000. It is adding 10 new long-range Airbus aircraft, the first of which is to be delivered this month.  Ten pilots and 45 flight attendants are being hired for each aircraft.