FALSE ALERT UNLIKELY TO HURT HAWAII
Travel pros optimistic
Hawaii’s false ballistic missile warning and the nuclear rhetoric between President Trump and North Korea will likely scare only a small number of people away from the island paradise, industry experts said.
Tourism is the No. 1 economic driver and more outreach may be needed to protect the industry, Atmosphere Research Group founder Henry Harteveldt said.
“I don’t think this event will have a meaningful impact or sustained impact on Hawaii’s tourism business unless we start to see an increase in angry or hostile exchanges between the U.S. and North Korea,” he said. “I think people who already have their reservations booked will continue to take the trips they had planned.”
The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency sent a false alert on Saturday morning that warned of an inbound ballistic missile threat to Hawaii and said “this is not a drill.” It wasn’t reversed until a second alert sent 38 minutes later said it was a “false alarm.”
“Hawaii recovered reasonably well in terms of its media outreach after this mistake happened,” Harteveldt said. “But it will be very important for the state’s tourism board to ... travel sellers to make sure they are 100 percent confident in selling Hawaii as a destination, and the state may have to increase its consumer-focused advertising, promotion and (public relations) to help win back some travelers who are sitting on the fence.”
Tourism supports an estimated 200,000 jobs in Hawaii. Year-end statistics to be released Jan. 31 will document record visitors and spending, and scheduled air seats for the state, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Visitor spending increased 6.6 percent to $15.15 billion through November.
The authority reached out to industry partners in its 10 major markets and fielded no concerns about the alert impacting travel, according to CEO George Szigeti, and hotels aren’t reporting cancellations.
“The message for us is that Hawaii is a safe and secure destination, and we’ll work with our global partners to see that we continue to get that message out,” he said.
The Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, meanwhile, hasn’t fielded one call on its 1-800-GoHawaii line from travelers concerned about Trump’s and North Korea’s increased rhetoric about nuclear capabilities, Szigeti said. “But, going forward, we’re going to ... make sure we keep a good eye on it,” he said. “Being in the middle of the ocean, we’re always preparing for natural disasters, but this whole thing with North Korea is new for us.”
New York’s Ovation Vacations, a luxury leisure travel company, got 15 calls last weekend from customers in Hawaii or heading there, but had no cancellations, according to President Jack Ezon. He doesn’t expect the false alert or rhetoric to impact business going forward. “More well-traveled people are more resilient to headlines,” Ezon said. “The one place I’ve seen (the rhetoric) really have an effect on business … are people going to Seoul and connecting to Seoul.”