Editor s Message. Market Conditions and Trends. June 5, Economy. Outbound Travel Market. Competitive Environment. Aloha!

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Editor s Message VOL.17 June 5, 2013 Aloha! From Hawaii Tourism Japan (HTJ), we hope that everyone is ready for another exciting month.

Also, HTJ participated in consumer events in regional cities to attract first timers and to stimulate better island distribution.

We humbly ask for all of your continuous support as we continue to expand Hawaii tourism opportunities in Japan.

1 Editor s Message VOL.17 June 5, 2013 Aloha! From Hawaii Tourism Japan (HTJ), we hope that everyone is ready for another exciting month. During the month of May, HTJ conducted multiple seminars and a FAM tour. Also, HTJ participated in consumer events in regional cities to attract first timers and to stimulate better island distribution. HTJ s Facebook page continues to grow in terms of our fan base as we provide our consumers with information about what is currently happening in Hawaii. We humbly ask for all of your continuous support as we continue to expand Hawaii tourism opportunities in Japan. You are more than welcome to contact us regarding any questions, suggestions and/or updates. Market Conditions and Trends Mahalo nui loa! Economy The status of Japan s economy continues to show positive signs of growth as Abenomics effects continue to go after the two percent inflation goal. The exchange rate of the yen weakens to over 100 JPY to USD and allowed for many of Japan major manufacturers and exporters to experience Q1 profits Unemployment rate in Japan maintained at 4.1% for the month of April Outbound Travel Market With the Golden Week holiday for Japan completing, there has been a lot of travel especially to South Eastern Asian destinations as well as some in Europe. The top 5 destinations for the Japan market during their Golden Week travel included the following 1. Oahu (5.6%) 2. Taiwan (5.2%) 3. Paris (4.5%) 4. Barcelona (3.7%) 5. Bali (3.6%) Some destinations that once were popular last year including Seoul, Guam, and China dropped in ranking due to tensions in those regions Competitive Environment The competitive environment for the Japan market shows that the Japanese visitors are still a very sought after consumer regarding travel. 1

2 Popular South East Asian destinations like Taiwan, Bali, and Singapore continue to be strong competition as many Japanese are able to travel to these destinations at a cheaper value compared to Hawaii Domestic travel has been on the rise especially during the Golden Week holiday through both rail and air travel from the usage of LCCs that accommodate for day trips Consumer Trends With one of the two upcoming gift giving seasons called ochugen approaching, consumers are looking for non-traditional presents that they can give to the people that continue to be a major part of their life. Nikkei survey that targeted 1,000 Japanese citizens between the age of 20s to 60s showed that 80% of respondents would like to receive gifts that provide some sort of experience instead of the normal gifts Experiences include, travel, certificates for meal at a restaurant, activities, and etc. This trend has been experienced by JTB who has seen an increase in their sells of travel gift cards by 3% over last year Media Trends The media trends of Japanese market maintains in their efforts from changing between traditional print media to electronic versions that are more environmentally friendly and are able to be more cost efficient in reaching a wider audience. Nikkei Electronic version reached a membership base of over 300,000 members as well as their free membership base reaching 1,890,000 members Fashion magazine that are targeting women in their 30s and 40s remains popular and have also seen shifts in pursuing an audience through both print and electronic channels Airlift The upcoming airlift between Japan and Hawaii shows quite favorable trends especially during the summer months to cover the anticipated influx of travelers during summer vacation. Hawaiian Airlines will be launching their flight between Sendai Sapporo-Honolulu beginning June 25 with the Boeing 767 aircraft that can hold 264 passengers Delta Airline will be dropping their DL578 flight during June 1st to July 26th and increasing their DL608 to daily service instead of the present schedule of Monday and Thursday Fukuoka Asiana Airlines flight schedule include an overnight stay in Incheon, Korean which provides an inconvenience to some travelers, so between July 1st and September 30th they will be decreasing this layover time to only 50 min. to better serve their customers Consumer Events Hakata Dontaku Festival 2013 (5/3-4) This event happens during Golden Week has over 800 years of history and attracts nearly 2,000,000 people annually, which allowed for HTJ to promote Hawaii to this wide audience. Throughout the two day event, we were able to showcase Hawaii s culture through music and hula with the help of local hula halaus and our Hawaii performers and received a lot of exposure from both local TV and newspaper outlets. This was the first time that HTJ participated in this event, but we were able to get in direct contact with our consumers as they showed great interest by visiting our booth, eagerly watching our performances and asking to receive updates from us in the future about Hawaii related news. 2

With many of the people that we communicated with being of the older market segment, they reminisced with us

Hiroshima Flower Festival 2013 (5/5) The Hiroshima Flower Festival entered the 37th year of it inception which

one of the biggest festivals in Hiroshima and further promote the direct flight between Fukuoka and Honolulu as

With the help of our Hawaii performers and Miss Hawaii, we were able to captivate the audience and expose them

We receive a lot of positive support from the attendees and the people who visited our booth that were eager to

Fukuoka Regional Consumer Seminars (5/1 & 5/14-16) Being consistent with our promotional efforts in increasing

Fukuoka (5/1), Hiroshima (5/14), and Kumamoto (5/16).

that promoted direct flights available between Fukuoka and Honolulu and island distribution through clearly

3 With many of the people that we communicated with being of the older market segment, they reminisced with us regarding their previous travels to Hawaii. Hiroshima Flower Festival 2013 (5/5) The Hiroshima Flower Festival entered the 37th year of it inception which normally attracts around 1,500,000 people was able to receive their highest amount of attendees at around 1,800,000. This event gave HTJ an important opportunity to further our relationships with the citizens participating in one of the biggest festivals in Hiroshima and further promote the direct flight between Fukuoka and Honolulu as well as Hawaii as an ideal travel destination. With the help of our Hawaii performers and Miss Hawaii, we were able to captivate the audience and expose them to Hawaiian music and culture. We receive a lot of positive support from the attendees and the people who visited our booth that were eager to learn more about Hawaii. Fukuoka Regional Consumer Seminars (5/1 & 5/14-16) Being consistent with our promotional efforts in increasing the knowledge and awareness of Hawaii travel from regional cities, HTJ conducted seminars in the cities of Fukuoka (5/1), Hiroshima (5/14), and Kumamoto (5/16). Throughout these three seminars we were able to gather a total of 858 attendees where we focused on content that promoted direct flights available between Fukuoka and Honolulu and island distribution through clearly distinguishing the uniqueness of all islands of Hawaii. We were certain to include information regarding history, culture, and activities that they can experience to further their appreciation of the Hawaii culture. For the Fukuoka seminar, we were able to coordinate for entertainers to perform which greatly enhanced the experience for the consumers. Many of our attendees were very interested in traveling to Hawaii and received the presentation very positively. Attendees: Fukuoka (5/1) 287 Hiroshima 224 (5/14) Kumamoto 347 (5/16) Fukuoka Seminar Hiroshima Seminar Kumamoto Seminar 3

Trade Events Delta Air Lines & HTJ Hawaii Seminar (5/14 &5/16) Delta Air Lines expressed interest in acquiring HTJ s support in boosting the travel out of the Fukuoka region, where they have a direct

Along with seven of our partners, we were able to provided updated information about the Hawaiian Islands to the participants while Delta Air Lines pushed the upgrades that they have implemented on

4 Trade Events Delta Air Lines & HTJ Hawaii Seminar (5/14 &5/16) Delta Air Lines expressed interest in acquiring HTJ s support in boosting the travel out of the Fukuoka region, where they have a direct flight to Honolulu. Total of over 70 wholesaler attendees from Hiroshima and Kumamoto participated. Along with seven of our partners, we were able to provided updated information about the Hawaiian Islands to the participants while Delta Air Lines pushed the upgrades that they have implemented on their direct flights. The information was received positively and provided us a great opportunity to further develop our relationships with wholesalers in this region and better understand what kind of future support they are seeking. Attendees: Hiroshima (5/14) 43pax Participating Partners: Pacific Resort Hilton Kumamoto (5/16) 29pax Pacific Beach Hotel Watabe Wedding Outrigger Hotel Marriott R&C Tours OHPC and HTJ Hawaii Seminar (5/15) In Fukuoka, HTJ coordinated a consumer seminar with OHPC. Along with eight of our industry partners we provided relevant information to the participants that focused on basic information about all of Hawaii including the sales points of each area and the tours available that support all of our efforts. We received a lot of positive feedback from the audience regarding the information presented and they felt that they have learned a lot about the products that they are selling and are seeking to further their knowledge about Hawaii. Participating Partners: Hilton Marriott Pacific Resort Pacific Beach Hotel Outrigger Hotel Watabe Wedding R&C Tours Hawaiian Airlines HPCE and HTJ Hawaii Seminar and Workshop (5/23-5/31) The HTJ Hawaii Seminar and Workshop was a joint effort allowing HTJ and 14 partnered companies to reach 228 new hires from our wholesaler partners in the regions of Sapporo, Sendai, and Tokyo. The focus of this event was to provide them with accurate information regarding basic Hawaii information that will allow them to become more confident in selling their Hawaii products to their customers. 4

These seminars provided HTJ with a great opportunity to establish relationships with the participants from each of the regions and allow us to better understand the best ways that we can

Attendees: Sapporo (5/23) Sendai (5/28) Tokyo (5/31) 49pax 36pax 143pax Sapporo Seminar Sendai Seminar HIS Tohoku District Study Seminar (5/27) With HIS interested in training their

This seminar was unique because of our efforts to provide the greatest impact in communicating with as many of their employees by waiting until after business hours to begin the study

After receiving this knowledge, it showed us that the participants were able to feel more confident in selling Hawaii compared to other destinations and appear interested in furthering

JTB Kyushu Maui FAM Tour (5/29) As JTB would like to improve their knowledge about Maui to become more proficient in their sales efforts, they brought 23 counter sales agents from JTB

5 These seminars provided HTJ with a great opportunity to establish relationships with the participants from each of the regions and allow us to better understand the best ways that we can provide support to them in the future. Attendees: Sapporo (5/23) Sendai (5/28) Tokyo (5/31) 49pax 36pax 143pax Sapporo Seminar Sendai Seminar HIS Tohoku District Study Seminar (5/27) With HIS interested in training their new-employees about Hawaii as a travel destination, HTJ, Starwood Hotel and Dollar rent a car met up with 31 of HIS s staff to conduct a study seminar about basic Hawaii information. This seminar was unique because of our efforts to provide the greatest impact in communicating with as many of their employees by waiting until after business hours to begin the study session. After receiving this knowledge, it showed us that the participants were able to feel more confident in selling Hawaii compared to other destinations and appear interested in furthering their learning. JTB Kyushu Maui FAM Tour (5/29) As JTB would like to improve their knowledge about Maui to become more proficient in their sales efforts, they brought 23 counter sales agents from JTB Kyushu and two staff from JTB World Vacation on Maui FAM tour. The focuses of this Maui FAM tour were aimed at boosting their sales for Maui especially for the upcoming JTB Maui Marathon through increasing their knowledge about the product and increasing the amount of travelers from the Kyushu region. With about half of the participants being first timers to Hawaii and only a couple of agents ever traveling to Maui before, this event provided essential first hand experiences allowing them to clarify what types of selling points Maui has and are now more confident with the selling of their Maui products to their target market including honeymooners, frequent senior travelers, and golfers. 5

HTJ Facebook HTJ s Facebook page continues growing in terms of our fan base as we provide our consumers with information about what is currently happening in Hawaii.

6 HTJ Facebook HTJ s Facebook page continues growing in terms of our fan base as we provide our consumers with information about what is currently happening in Hawaii. Total Fans reached over 17,000 people with similar amount of growth experienced compared to the previous month We have been seeing an increase amount of reactions to posts especially those concerning music, culture, and gourmet After the conclusion of our first anniversary campaign we will be taking into consideration the responses that we receive to better cater the content of our Facebook for our fans HTJ will continue to use our Facebook to provide content that will attract the attention of our audience so that they can further their understanding of the Hawaii culture. As we see this as an important tool in reaching the audience it will be necessary to conduct future promotions that allow for more interaction and sharing of knowledge between fans to create an environment that will connect them with more learning opportunities like our YouTube and Aloha-Program. Upcoming Events Travel Trade & Media Projects 6/5-10 China Airline & HTJ FAM Tour on Hawaii Island and Oahu 6/20-25 Delta Airline & HTJ FAM Tour from Kyushu district on Kauai and Oahu 6/24-28 Island Chapter Sales Blitz & meeting with HPCE and OHPC Radio Promotion (monthly) North Wave (Sapporo) Every Sunday 15 min (9:00-9:15) RKB (Fukuoka) Every Sunday 10 min (17:50-18:00) InterFM (Tokyo & Yokohama) Every Saturday 120 min (8:00-10:00) Date FM (Sendai) Every Thursday 10 min (16:35-16:45) KBC (Fukuoka) Every Friday 10 min (15:15-15:25) Shonan Beach FM (Kanagawa) Every Saturday 10 min (9:00-9:10) Thank you for reading our HTJ Newsletter! Should you have any questions, please refer to our contact information below. hawaii@htjapan.jp Address: 1600 Kapiolani Blvd Suite 723 (Pan Am Bldg), Honolulu, HI Tel: (808) Fax: (808)

Monthly Newsletter. Editor s Message. Visitor Statistics Total Arrivals: January Japanese Arrivals: January 2012

Monthly Newsletter. Editor s Message. Visitor Statistics Total Arrivals: January Japanese Arrivals: January 2012 Monthly Newsletter Vol. 02 Editor s Message Aloha! January figures have shown many positive trends with the Japanese Market. Hawaii Tourism Japan has been busy in February to replicate this success with