Hawaii wants more South Korean tourists

updated 11:25 a.m. ET Aug. 20, 2007

HONOLULU - Hawaii tourism promoters hope a planned visa waiver program will bring more South Korean travelers to the islands.

U.S. Rep. Maize Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii, said the possible influx of South Korean visitors could resemble the rise in Japanese tourists witnessed after the U.S. eased visa restrictions on visitors from Japan.

"If all goes well, this will be terrific news for Hawaii," Hirono told The Honolulu Star-Bulletin. "This will dramatically increase the number of visitors we can expect from South Korea. It will probably replicate what happened with Japan when it got into the visa waiver program."

South Korean tourist arrivals have been hovering at around 35,000 a year — far below the high of 123,000 in 1996 — largely because citizens of the Asian nation have trouble obtaining visas to visit the United States.

A law President George W. Bush signed earlier this month could change that.

The law allows more countries to qualify for visa waivers if they have cooperated with the United States in counterterrorism efforts.

The countries must also meet certain requirements, including having a history of few visa denials and few visitors overstaying their visas.

State tourism liaison Marsha Wienert says South Korea meets all the criteria.

"We are very optimistic that we will be able to welcome South Korea as a visa waiver country, probably by the first part of next year," Wienert told the newspaper. "We're looking forward to it."

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The law directs the Department of Homeland Security to establish an exit tracking system for departing air passengers as a condition of expanding the visa waiver program.

Wienert said she has already contacted the Department of Homeland Security to make sure Honolulu and Kona, Hawaii's two international airports, are equipped with the exit program.

Short-term visitors from Japan and selected other nations may enter the United States without obtaining a visa in advance.

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But South Koreans must currently apply in person at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul for U.S. visas before they leave for the United States.

They travel by train or even air to Seoul, and sometimes must even spend the night there to go through the application process. Even then, there is no guarantee their application will be accepted, said Austin Kang, co-chairman of the Korean Visa Waiver Committee.

Some businesses are gearing up to welcome more Koreans.

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The Waikiki Resort Hotel, a pioneer in catering to the Korean market, is planning renovations to prepare for the influx.

"We're hopeful that everything will be in place by summer of 2008," said Trudy Taniguchi, director of sales and marketing at the hotel. "We are getting drummed up and ready for this visa waiver to go through. It's been talked about for many, many years."

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