Aloha Also Means Goodbye

A short while ago, gas was over $4 per gallon, and airlines were raising rates a dozen times a day. For many folks, that only meant fewer trips to Grandma's house, and maybe we'll take the train or a bus instead of fly or drive. However, we have a STATE that is completely surrounded by water, nearly 2400 miles from the Mainland USA. No Amtrak or Greyhound service available, sorry. Tourism, the life-blood of Hawaii, is in the midst of a serious landslide. Nearly 14% fewer visitors arrived in October 2008 than the same month a year ago, making it the 8th straight monthly decline and 5th consecutive double-digit drop in tourism. That's huge, and although everyone is talking about Detroit and Michigan's economy with the auto industry, Hawaii is being hammered in a different manner. There are still people coming to the islands, but they are staying at more moderate properties and also shortening their stays by about 12% as well. Industry insiders expect this trend to continue, at least in the short term due to the economy, even if airfares come back down to earth with lower fuel costs.

Having said all that, Hawaii is not blameless here. They know they are a one-of-a-kind destination, and have loaded visitor tax on top of visitor tax. They put in place protectionist policies such as no casino gambling, which along with the infamous "Jones Act" has kept cruise ships from being a successful venture there. Just 3 years ago, Norwegian Cruise Line was running 3 ships from the islands, with dreams of a lucrative permanent market. However, you can only charge so much for drinks and shore trips, and the lack of casino revenue forced them to remove 1 ship, then a 2nd ship, leaving only the Pride Of America remaining. Even that has been a difficult sell, though compared to a hotel-based Hawaii vacation where you do not have meals included, it's still an absolute BARGAIN. Maybe when the Dow was at 13,000, the local officials were able to strap visitors with hefty fees and service charges, and get away with a little moderate gouging. Guess what, guys. Aloha means hello, and it also means buh-bye. It may be time to re-think a little about "want" versus "need" these days, and very few people in the lower 48 "need" to come to Hawaii. A little love goes a long way, so maybe you can freshen your approach and not make people feel they're being taken advantage of at every turn. At this point, it can't hurt!

The one bright spot for Hawaii has been Canada, where more people have visited this year, while the Canadian Dollar enjoyed a better margin against US currency than in a very long time. That is changing rapidly, though. Earlier this year, the Canadian Dollar actually passed the US Dollar in value, which hasn't happened in decades. Reality check! As of this morning, the Canadian Dollar is back below .81cents against US, meaning fewer Canadians will be visiting Hawaii moving forward. So once again, I encourage Hawaiian Tourism officials to re-think some of their strategies, before they drive more businesses under in a stark economy. Anyone still interested in visiting the islands, check with us for discount rates on Pride Of America. As I mentioned, your meals and nightly entertainment are included, AND you get to sample Oahu, Maui, the Big Island of Hawaii (2 stops) and the lush beauty of Kauai. Plus the 7-day itinerary includes two overnight stays, so it's a fabulous way to check out the various islands, while holding down costs!

I mentioned the fall of the Canadian Dollar over the last ten months, but for Americans that means one thing: NOW is the time to book a vacation trip to Canada! You don't have to be an outdoorsman or lumberjack. Myth! My favorite city in the World is Toronto, and there is a great article on USAToday.com about what to see and do "on the cheap." Here's a link:

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2008-11-25-toronto-on-a-budget_N.htm

Forget the part about staying in a youth hostel, but it's an excellent article overall! You can also visit the likes of the Hockey Hall Of Fame, Second City Comedy Club, or Wayne Gretzky's Restaurant & Bar. Toronto's theater district rivals the best in the world. And sports of all kinds, professional or otherwise. There's amazing shopping at Eaton Center. Friendly people. World-class cuisine from fine dining to the finest "street hot dogs" on the planet. Toronto has it all, and you're only 2 hours away from Niagara Falls, and only 3-4 hours away from wilderness areas of amazing beauty. Right on Lake Ontario, too!

The Associated Press reports puzzled Japanese zookeepers have finally cleared up a mystery, over a lack of chemistry between two polar bears at a Japanese zoo. Tsuyoshi, a four-year-old male polar bear, and his 11-year-old female partner, Kurumi, have been living together since June at the Kushiro Municipal Zoo in Hokkaido, Japan. But much to the frustration of breeders and zookeepers, the bear couple showed no signs of "special chemistry", the kind polar bears (and some of us humans) have when mating. Tsuyoshi has never once tried to perform with Kurumi, even during a normal mating period. Observing his behavior almost continuously, zookeepers became suspicious, and sent Tsuyoshi for fertility testing. He was put under anesthesia earlier this month, where it was discovered he was a she! Upon learning this, Tsuyoshi and Kurumi have decided to adopt, and have asked for an immediate transfer to the San Francisco zoo....

Two men are accused of outfitting their car with red and blue flashing lights, then using it to make fake traffic stops according to police in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. An anonymous tip led Monroe County sheriff's detectives to 2 men, who on Monday faced charges of being party to false imprisonment, impersonating an officer and disorderly conduct. 20-year-old Cody Hobson and 21-year-old Ronald Lyons, both of Sparta, Wisconsin are alleged to have stopped two motorists on Nov. 18, but the men didn't make contact with either driver after pulling them over. A 3rd stop was attempted, but aborted without incident, when the driver hesitated to pull over . During one of the stops, 1 of the 2 men arrested turned to the other and said, "No matter how many times we do this, it never gets old!" How would authorities know about that exact conversation? Because these 2 brain surgeons filmed the entire thing from inside their car, and posted the video on YouTube. The anonymous tipster instructed the police to view the video, which incriminated Hobson and Lyons. The pair are free on $5,000 bond, pending an upcoming trial. Man, I'd like to be on that jury.

OH YEAH, Sailors. I almost forgot to tell you something very important...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
The Cap'n