The State of Hawaii and China have signed an accord whereby Hawaii will impart its expertise on tourism management, in exchange for China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) support for the promotion of the islands as

a tourist destination for mainland Chinese.
The ground breaking new agreement is designed to not only boost travel between China and the US, but it will also have provisions for workers within the Chinese tourism industry to visit Hawaii on dedicated study programmes.
In a recent visit to Hawaii to celebrate the new accord, Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi paid tribute to Hawaii?s expertise in tourism management, adding that these skills could be very helpful to China in its own tourism planning.
Comment: This is a really positive move by the State of Hawaii and it really does silence those critics last February who questioned the wisdom and funding of the State?s tourism trade missions to Asia and China last summer.
Donations by DFS Hawaii, Ko Olina Resort and Marina, and NCL America have raised around $120,000 within a grand total of $827,000 since 2003 for tourism promotion of Hawaii, with the State paying the rest. The result is there for all to see.
The fact that businesses and the State are now working together to try and broaden the nationality profile of visitor can only be good for Hawaii, where tourism promotion to Asia has not been as effective in recent years as the State would have liked.
Right now, the number of Chinese visitors to Hawaii is still below 40,000 a year, but official support for the destination should count for much over the next five years. Especially if the US can find a way of simplifying the visa application process for visiting Chinese nationals.