Trump slump hurts US tourism: could Hawaii suffer next?

Barack Obama may have another chance to be president … this time, of the future free state of Hawaii.

Bookings for Hawaii are up but will President Trump spoil the luau?

What is the southernmost state of the US? I knew the answer to this trivia question on a cruise I took last year but many did not. Florida or Texas were the most common replies. One wag from Queensland yelled out, “Australia!”

The answer is Hawaii, which pleased me, not because I got it right but rather that many travellers don’t think of the so-called Aloha State as having much to do with the big-brother mainland. It is of itself, all pineapples and hula skirts and a peaceful getting-on with life, plus a reso­lute blue colour in terms of voting.

My friends there think of themselves as Hawaiians first and Americans second­, and have joined a slow-burn movement for secession and a mission to install home hero Barack Obama as president. It’s unclear whether he has been consulted, but the idea appeals to me enormously.

I am pleased, too, to hear that Hotels­combined.com.au reports an 11.5 per cent increase in bookings for Hawaii last year compared with 2016, and a 12.4 per cent growth in length of stay, but not at the Trump International in Waikiki, which failed to make the Top 10 list of properties booked on the main island of Oahu.

Hawaii’s tourism mini-boom could falter if the Trump administration enacts proposed “extreme vetting” legislation on visa requirements, one-on-one interviews, provision of social media history for the past five years and who knows what other proof of identity and intent. Things are already bleak in terms of US mainland arrivals, with many would-be tourists turned off by what is perceived as “state-sponsored Islamophobia”.

Data and analytics company GlobalData.com calls it the Trump Slump, citing­ statistics from the UN World Tourism Organisation of 72.9 million visit­ors last year, down from 75.9 million in 2016. New York City and Los Angeles, however, showed growth of 2.1 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively, and Hawaii is already tracking at 2.7 per cent this year, according to the 50th state’s Departme­nt of Business, Economic Devel­opment & Tourism.

This slump sees Spain, which is recordi­ng all-time high numbers of international arrivals, overtaking the US from third to second place on the list of the most-visited countries, despite the polit­ical upheaval of the Catalan independ­ence movement and terror attacks last August. Spain is now nibbling at the heels of the once-unassailable France for the No 1 spot.

I am not arguing with the need for rigor­ous homeland security but prohibit­ive visa palaver will result in fewer international tourists to the US, which directly relates to fewer jobs for the many who need them most. Go figure.