Japanese Runners in the Honolulu Marathon and Their Economic Benefits to Hawaii

Abstract

With close to 7 million visitors annually and approximately $10 billion in total expenditures per year, Hawaii has become very dependent on the tourism industry. Traditionally, Japanese visitors have dominated tourism in Hawaii, but lately their numbers have declined from the record high levels of the 1990s. As the Japanese tourism market has dropped considerably, Hawaii is searching for innovative ways to help revive this economically significant tourism market. One solution may be to strategically market sports tourism in Hawaii. The purpose of this study was to assess the economic benefits of the 2003 Honolulu Marathon by runners from Japan and their traveling companions on the city of Honolulu. Data used in this study was collected by distributing a research instrument in Japanese to Japanese-speaking marathon participants. The examination and analysis of the results from this survey will assist in determining the economic significance of runners from Japan in the Honolulu Marathon on the state of Hawaii.