Hawaii Chronicles III: World War Two in Hawaii from the Pages of Paradise of the Pacific

Tourist Forecast

Tourist Forecast CLARENCE L. HODGE E Hawaii can expect an influx of tourists in 1947 numbering more than 110,000, a figure unexcelled in the history of the islands, according to an estimate recently made by Mark Egan, executive secretary of the Hawaii Visitors Bureau. Before the war some fifty thousand tourists spent in excess of $20 million a year in Hawaii, and within five years Hawaii can expect to receive about $45 million from the tourist trade, Mr. Egan says. One-hundred-ten thousand people is a sizable crowd in any man’s language, and an annual income of $45 million is certainly worth cultivating because the huge wartime payrolls and spending of the armed forces in this area have dropped sharply in recent months. These millions of tourist dollars will find their way into the pockets of local businessmen and residents of the community. After the first turnover from retail stores, hotels, amusements, restaurants, and transportation companies, these travel dollars will be used for payroll , rent, taxes, insurance, construction, and repair. These travel dollars will benefit every person in the islands and at the same time they will provide a cushion to sustain Hawaii’s postwar economy. This economy depends largely on four sound industries. They are the basic industrialized agricultural crops of sugar and pineapples, revenue from the armed forces and civil employees, and an expanding fishing industry.The annual income from each of these sources is estimated to run as follows: Sugar and pineapples $125,000,000 Armed forces and civil employees 53,000,000 Fishing 10,000,000 Total $188,000,000 328 First published March 1946. To this can be added a potential $45 million from the tourist trade, making an estimated postwar annual income from these five major industries of approximately $233 million. This postwar tourist trade estimate is based on recent surveys made by travel organizations on the mainland that reveal that the average American family is all set for foreign travel. These travel agencies are receiving thousands of inquiries daily. “What countries can we visit now? When will passports be available? Can we travel by ship or plane? Are hotel accommodations available? How much will such a trip cost?”These are typical questions being asked by an American public itching to travel. The average person has made good money during the war years and has put aside substantial savings. Wartime restrictions have prevented foreign travel, but at the same time war news has created curiosity and interest in Hawaii and the Pacific area. With the lifting of wartime restrictions, Hawaii can expect a tourist boom of great consequence to the Territory. A travel survey made by Town and Country shows that 35 percent of all families interviewed want to go either to Canada, Bermuda, Hawaii, California, or Florida. Some mainland preferences were listed because of the present difficulty in securing transportation outside the United States. Another survey conducted by Traveler Magazine among fifteen hundred readers listed Hawaii as seventh preference for their postwar trips to foreign lands. Hawaii out-ranked all countries except Alaska, Canada, Cuba, Europe, Mexico, and South America . Hawaii will have stiff competition from these countries and must prepare to meet it. Peacetime Honolulu was a regular port of call for steamship lines operating some sixty ships on regular schedules to this port. Transpacific lines provided passenger accommodations from moderate to luxurious . Ships running from Los Angeles and San Francisco to the islands made the trip in about five days. Besides the Pacific Coast– Hawaii run, Honolulu was a port of call for ships running from Japan; from Central America and the west coast of South America; for U.S. round-the-world cruises; and from the United States to Australia, New Zealand, and the Orient. At the outbreak of the war all scheduled services were suspended when American ships were taken over by the Federal Government for war service. The ships of these various companies are being returned to their War!—1946 329 owners after their war duties. These ships will be ready for passenger trade as soon as they are reconditioned. New fleets of vessels are being constructed by several companies to handle the tourist trade. These vessels will provide regular runs between the mainland and Hawaii and throughout the Orient. Pan American World Airways clippers are now operating daily flights from San Francisco to Honolulu. As new planes are received and travel to...