Hawaii Week at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai

HONOLULU—Yesterday, Gov. Linda Lingle presided over the official opening of “Hawaii Week” at the USA Pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, China. The Governor began the day with a briefing from Ambassador Jose H. Villarreal, the U.S. Commissioner General for the World Expo. Ambassador Villarreal reviewed the efforts that went into attracting the private sector support necessary to construct and operate the USA Pavilion. 

A delegation of over 60 people from Hawaii, including government officials, private businesses and entertainers, are in Shanghai to showcase the 50th State and the many attractions Hawaii has to offer Chinese visitors, as well as opportunities in trade, investment and study abroad at Hawaii colleges and universities.

“I hope you will take with you a sense of the desire we have in Hawaii to welcome visitors from China and extend to them the warmth and hospitality that have been the hallmarks of our State,” Lingle told the Chinese media.

The Governor noted in her comments that Chinese visitors are the fastest growing market in Hawaii, up 23 percent during the first quarter of 2010. She also pointed out that Chinese visitors are the highest spending visitors, averaging $312 per day. The opportunities for additional visitors from China in the future is very significant given that only 3 percent of the Chinese population will travel abroad this year, she said.

Yesterday’s “Hawai‘i Day” festivities featured performances of hula and Hawaiian music throughout the day that attracted overflow crowds. 

The official count of visitors to the Expo for Tuesday, June 8 had already surpassed 491,000 by 5:00 p.m. (China time) and was projected to top half a million before the end of the evening. The Expo organizers estimate 70 million people will attend the 2010 World Expo during the six months it is held in Shanghai.

In separate meetings, Hawaii agriculture officials met with their Chinese counterparts to promote fresh and processed agricultural products from Hawaii.  Among those participating in the meetings were Dr. Ching Yuan Hu of the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources; Duane Okamoto, deputy director, Hawaii Department of Agriculture; and representatives from the Hawaii Export Nursery Association and the Hawaii Tropical Flowers Council.

Today, Lingle is promoting Hawaii exports at the World Trade Center Pavilion as part of World Trade Association Day. The Governor will also tour the China Pavilion and meet with Mr. Zhao Zhenge, a graduate of the University of Hawaii, who serves as deputy director general of the China Pavilion. 

Lingle is also scheduled to meet with Chinese business executives at an “Invest in Hawaii” seminar coordinated by the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism. The seminar is designed to provide potential investors with information on Hawaii’s economic outlook and investment climate, as well as the State’s immigrant investment program in which foreign nationals investing in businesses that create 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers can obtain permanent residency. 

Tomorrow the governor will travel to Guangzhou, Guangdong Province to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Hawaii-Guangdong sister-state-province relationship. She and Guangdong Governor Huang Hua Hua will sign a memorandum of understanding to extend this important relationship for the next 25 years to foster continued trade, investment, education, and cultural partnerships between Hawaii and Guangdong.