The difficult part for me is to identify the opportunities that will grab Chinese tourist’s attention. Just the clean air and beautiful sunsets should attract significant crowds from the polluted metropolitan areas. Other areas could be in the numerous ABC stores that line Kalakaua. I would never have thought that so many of the exact same store would be needed only a block apart. Each store is very successful though so the buying behavior may give clues to new target areas. I believe that one of the main reasons people go to Hawaii and will continue to is because of the strong culture (and Big Iz is a testament to that). But even the culture is disappearing as a younger generation seems to care less about it than their mothers and fathers. I look forward to studying more about Chinese culture and seeing it in person to be able to better identify these business opportunities. And for more excellent music out of Hawaii but in a very different style, check out Jake Shimabukuro, who by the way recently performed in San Luis Obispo.

May I apply to be your personal assistant in Hawaii?

Working in Hawaii is a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it, and it might as well be me …

Chris, thanks as always for mention of my site. The China Business Network by default will have a very active local chapter in Honolulu this spring when yours truly relocates there. I suppose there are worse places for my husband to be transferred to. Not complaining!

Look forward to doing my part to help encourage trade and tourism between Hawaii and China once I set up there. I suppose a conference in Honolulu is in order. What a tough business trip that would be for our friends in China.

Hawaii is one of my favorite places to travel to and I can easily see why Chinese tourism to Hawaii would be increasing. First of all, it is a much shorter flight if you want to visit the US from China and second of all, Hawaii truly is paradise. In fact I am getting ready to head over to Hawaii after Christmas and can’t wait. Hawaii is a very international place considering how small its islands are. There are many languages spoken and as a result many of the islands locals speak Pidgin English, a broken form of English. My suggestion to anyone moving to Hawaii to take care of Chinese tourists would be to learn Mandarin or Cantonese. However, you will also encounter many other languages, especially Japanese as it is still a popular tourist destination for many Japanese. But knowing one of any of these languages would probably be a great asset if you do plan to move to Hawaii - just be prepared to learn Pidgin English as well.