Latest news with #AkamaiArrival
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Digital agriculture form will expand after pilot
Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke announced Thursday that the state plans to expand the Akamai Arrival program to additional flights throughout the year, allowing more travelers entering Hawaii to complete a digitized version of the Department of Agriculture's Plants and Animals Declaration Form. Luke said during a media conference at the state Capitol that the pilot phase of the program ended with an average 74 % compliance rate, compared with under 60 % for the previous, paper-only system. She said the Akamai Arrival initiative is a key component of the state's broader effort to modernize government serv ices, protect local agriculture and improve the travel experience for both visitors and returning residents. Sharon Hurd, Department of Agriculture chair, said the new program is a vital part of Hawaii's biosecurity system. 'Biosecurity is critical to protecting our local agriculture, environment and way of life, ' Hurd said. 'By moving to a digital platform, we can more effectively identify potential threats and respond quickly to protect Hawaii from invasive species.' The pilot, which launched March 1 and ends May 31, was implemented on 30 % of incoming flights across more than 100 routes. The program has increased the number of travelers who are filling out the mandatory agricultural form before entering Hawaii ; however, it drew criticism from those who relied on the data provided by the form's optional tourism questions, which were eliminated during the pilot. Jennifer Chun, director of tourism research for the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, said the pilot initially eliminated access to tourism data from arriving Southwest flights, all American flights, five Alaska flights, one Delta flight, two Hawaiian flights and two United flights. DBEDT Director James Ku nane Tokioka said in an email that DBEDT is now receiving data from the Akamai Arrival Program, so 'all the data are comparable to the past and the comparisons are valid.' Tokioka said DBEDT's Research and Economic Analysis Division restored the international passenger counts as of May 1, and on May 5 resumed the reporting of domestic data, albeit with a one-week delay. 'DBEDT is in the process of finalizing the (memorandum of understanding ) with the Department of Agriculture. The passenger data from DOA is consistent with the data that DBEDT has collected in the past, ' he said, adding that there is a request for quotes to create a digital tourism survey with a target to start in June. Luke did not specify a timeline to convert all flights to the digitized form, but Tokioka said DBEDT is planning for the future when the Plants and Animals Declaration Form becomes 100 % digital. Once that occurs, he said, 'DBEDT has two options to collect the domestic visitor data : one, switch domestic visitor data collection to an airport departure survey ; two, digitize the tourism survey form.' Tokioka said DBEDT is planning a pilot program to test the effectiveness of the two methods. The initiative was authorized under Act 196 and has been touted by state leaders including Gov. Josh Green, Luke and Sen. Glenn Wakai (D, Kalihi-Salt Lake-Pearl Harbor ) as a significant step toward modernizing Hawaii's bio security efforts. Wakai, who chairs the Senate Committee on Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs, said he started advocating for a digital agricultural form five years ago and initially was met with resistance, until 2024 when lawmakers passed a law encouraging the migration from paper to an app. He said ending the in-flight paper agricultural form would save at least $800, 000 annually, but more important, digitization increases completion rates and strengthens protections against invasive species. Passengers typically would complete the digitized form in advance of boarding their flight. Luke said the Akamai Arrival platform was developed using internal resources, with no additional cost to taxpayers. She said the digital form, which is accessible up to five days before departure, is available in six languages, and as the program expands, more languages will be added to accommodate non-English-speaking travelers. For updates and more information, visit.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Yahoo
New digital agriculture form pilot program sees success
HONOLULU (KHON2) — The newly launched digital agriculture form for incoming travelers has been a success, with state officials looking to expand on it in the future. 'Akamai Arrival' takes off: Ag declaration form goes digital Launched on March 1, the 'Akamai Arrival' pilot program has ran for three months with increased engagement results. During this time, 74% of travelers who were offered the digital form actually completed it, compared to the old paper form, which averaged about 60% compliance. Officials said that the more people who complete the form, the better the state will be equipped to protect itself against invasive species or other biosecurity threats. The importance of the program is that it takes all of us. All of us have to participate so that we know better how to protect the state from incoming pests. Sharon Hurd, Hawaii Dept. of Ag Chair 'Akamai Arrival' is looking to add a plant and animal arrival form on the digital platform in the near future as well as expand to more flights. The digital form contains the same questions as their paper counterparts, which passengers can fill out on their laptops or mobile devices before their flight lands. 'The digital ag form offers convenience for travelers. It's accessible, pre-departure and pre-arrival,' says Lieutenant Governor Silvia Luke. 'It's available in six languages, making it easier for non-English speakers to comply.' Check out more news from around Hawaii The program is expected to run through the end of the year. For more information, visit the Akamai Arrival website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tourism agency brings back passenger counts after data blip
The state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism has restored passenger counts from international and domestic travelers, correcting at least part of the blip in data caused by the pilot program for a digitized agriculture disclosure form. Eliminating the optional tourism questions on the back of the form for the Akamai Arrival pilot program, which runs from March 1 to May 31, initially caused the department to remove its daily passenger counts, a real-time measuring tool that has been available since Sept. 11, 2001. Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the optional tourism questions on the back of the printed agricultural form were left off the digitized version to better measure compliance. She said officials chose a simplified form as they were worried that adding the more time-consuming tourism questions might skew the pilot's participation rate. Luke said the optional tourism questions currently have about a 40 % compliance rate. Jennifer Chun, DBEDT director of tourism research, estimates that the pilot eliminates tourism questions from all arriving Southwest flights, all American flights, five Alaska flights, one Delta flight, two Hawaiian flights and two United flights—roughly 31 % of scheduled flights and 28.4 % of scheduled air seats. DBEDT Director James Kunane Tokioka said the agency received complaints after the pilot began March 1 and the agency removed daily passenger counts from its website. Tokioka said recently that DBEDT's Research and Economic Analysis Division restored the international passenger counts as of May 1, and on May 5 resumed the reporting of domestic data, albeit with a one-week delay. 'The Department of Agriculture is now providing DBEDT with the daily passenger data on a weekly basis, and we are currently working with DOA on a memorandum of understanding to receive and report the data on a daily basis, ' he said in an email to the Star-Advertiser. 'Once the MOU is approved, we will report the data at the same schedule as we have been using in the past.' The initiative was authorized under Act 196 and has been touted by state leaders, including Gov. Josh Green, Luke and Sen. Glenn Wakai (D, Kalihi-Salt Lake-Pearl Harbor ) as a significant step toward modernizing Hawaii's bio security efforts. Wakai, who chairs the Senate Committee on Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs, said he started advocating for a digital agricultural form five years ago and initially was met with resistance, until 2024 when lawmakers passed a law encouraging the migration from paper to an app. He said ending the in-flight paper agricultural form would save at least $800, 000 annually, but more important, digitization increases completion rates and strengthens protections against invasive species. Passengers typically would complete the digitized form in advance of boarding their flight. But the initial data gap from the pilot left economists and tourism research professionals stumped on how to get enough nuanced information to calculate year-over-year comparisons for the monthly visitor arrivals and spending reports. They criticized the decision to discontinue the existing methodology, instead of temporarily running both programs in parallel so as to benchmark against the pre-existing methodology. Tokioka said DBEDT is now receiving data from the Akamai Arrival Program, so 'all the data are comparable to the past and the comparisons are valid.' He said DBEDT is planning for the future when the Plants and Animals Declaration Form becomes 100 % digital. Once that occurs, Toki oka said, 'DBEDT has two options to collect the domestic visitor data : (1 ) switch domestic visitor data collection to an airport departure survey ; (2 ) digitize the tourism survey form.' DBEDT is planning a pilot program to test the effectiveness of the two methods.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Heading to Merrie Monarch? Don't bring this plant on your way back
HONOLULU (KHON2) — As you pack your bags and lei to head to the Merrie Monarch Festival, here's a reminder that rules are in place to restrict the movement of ʻōhiʻa plants from the Big Island. The quarantine rule has been in place since 2015 for ʻōhiʻa plants and plant parts such as flowers, leaves, seeds, stems and more due to the risk of fungal plant disease — rapid ʻōhiʻa death. 'Akamai Arrival' takes off: Ag declaration form goes digital The Department of Agriculture said the plant disease is devastating to native forests. Officials added that even the act of harvesting ʻōhiʻa can spread the disease, as the spores can be carried in soil, harvesting tools, shoes, clothing and more. To prevent ʻōhiʻa material from leaving the Big Island, PQB inspectors will be stationed at airports in Hilo and Kona, where it will be collected and returned to the native who are caught attempting to transport the plant may be charged with a misdemeanor and fined up to $10,000. If a second offense is committed, violators can face fines up to $25,000. Questions regarding inspection information can be directed to HDOA's Plant Quarantine offices: Hilo: (808) 961-9393 Kona: (808) 326-1077 Honolulu: (808) 937-8413 Maui: (808) 872-3848 Kauai: (808) 241-7135 Check out more news from around Hawaii For more information on rapid ʻōhiʻa death, visit the HDOA's website or the UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Digitized agriculture form disrupts tourism data
Akamai Arrival, the pilot program for a digitized agriculture disclosure form, left out the optional tourism questions from the back of the form, creating a blip in the state's continuous tourism arrivals set that goes back to before the jet age. Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke said the decision was made to initially leave off the questions to start with a simplified form. Eliminating the tourism questions for the pilot program, which runs from March 1 to May 31, caused the state Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism to remove its daily passenger counts, a real-time measuring tool that has been available since Sept. 11, 2001. The data gap from the pilot also has left economists and tourism research professionals stumped on how to get enough nuanced information to calculate year-over-year comparisons for the monthly visitor arrivals and spending reports. Jennifer Chun, DBEDT director of tourism research, estimates that the pilot eliminates tourism questions from all arriving Southwest flights, all American flights, five Alaska flights, one Delta flight, two Hawaiian flights and two United flights—roughly 31 % of scheduled flights and 28.4 % of scheduled air seats. Paul Brewbaker, principal of TZ Economics, said an interruption to tourism data could have serious repercussions as economists use it to make economic forecasts. Brewbaker added that the Council of Revenues relies on tourism data to figure out how much money is available for the budget. The information also is used in bond ratings, which set the interests rates for government borrowing, he said. Brewbaker said interrupting Hawaii's tourism data set is problematic when tourism 'accounts for about one-third of the neighbor island economy and 15 % to 20 % of the statewide economy.' Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. 'I'm going to go write some papers now that say, 'Here's what the tourism data tell us, and from here on out we'll never know—so this is economic history now.'' The initiative was authorized under Act 196, and has been touted by state leaders, including Gov. Josh Green, Luke and Sen. Glenn Wakai (D, Kalihi-Salt Lake-Pearl Harbor ) as a significant step toward modernizing Hawaii's biosecurity efforts. Luke worked with legislators, the state Department of Agriculture, airline partners and stakeholders to develop the digital agriculture form pilot program. 'The consensus of all the airlines is that they wanted to start with a simplified form just under the agricultural declaration, and then we have the option to add more stuff as they get better in communication and customer questions, ' Luke said. 'This is kind of the first step, and then we are already having discussions about how do we reintegrate the visitor information.' Wakai, who chairs the Senate Committee on Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs, said he started advocating for a digital agricultural form five years ago, and initially was met with resistance, until 2024 when lawmakers passed a law encouraging the migration from paper to an app. He said ending the in-flight paper agricultural form would save at least $800, 000 annually, but more important, digitization increases completion rates and strengthens protections against invasive species. Passengers typically would complete the digitized form in advance of boarding their flight. 'Compliance for the digitized agricultural form was north of 70 %, and with the paper agricultural form it was 60 %, ' Wakai said. 'Now we are in discussions about how to add the tourism data. We may need to figure out incentives because participation in the tourism questions is voluntary.' DBEDT Director James Kunane Tokioka said agency received complaints after the pilot began March 1 and the agency removed daily passenger counts from its website. Tokioka said that he met with Luke and the Department of Agriculture on Friday to try to determine a workaround. 'I was very encouraged by the meeting, ' he said. 'By the middle of next week, we are hoping that we can figure out how to get the passenger count.' But Chun noted that the drop in collected tourism data goes beyond passenger counts and also affects visitor statistics methodology for the Visitor Satisfaction and Activity report. She said the pilot also could affect de facto population calculations. Chris Kam, president and chief operating officer of Omnitrak, the current vendor for the in-flight form, said the in-flight tourism portion of the form goes back to 1950, and the continuous data set has given Hawaii a strategic advantage by providing a snapshot of where visitors are going in Hawaii and their length of stay, which is a key to determining how much they spend per day. 'I'm not defending one format over another. I think going digital is unavoidable and this is the right direction, but we need to make sure we do it prudently from a research perspective, ' Kam said. 'We need a bridge during the pilot, and we need it sooner rather than later.' Rep. Adrian Tam (D, Waikiki ), who chairs the House Committee on Tourism, and Sen. Lynn DeCoite (D, Lanai-Molokai-Hana ), who chairs the Senate Committee on Economic Development and Tourism, said they want to see tourism data restored quickly. 'We are in the middle of a legislative session and deciding on our budget, ' Tam said. 'We look at everything that the Council of Revenues and UHERO (University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization ) puts out. The Hawaii Tourism Authority is part of the government, and they are in the middle of fighting for their budget requests, too.' DeCoite said tourism data needs to go beyond the passenger counts so that lawmakers can determine which tourism markets to invest in and where destination stewardship mitigation is needed. 'I want to know who is resident and who is visitor. I want to know what the visitor is actually doing—if they are coming under business or convention ; are they actually going out and using the parks ; are they part of a footprint that is impacting infrastructure here, ' she said. 'That will help us isolate out if the extra added impact fee that we are talking about would be sufficient or do we continue to do a reservation system.' Luke said it has not been determined when the tourism questions will be reintegrated into the digital agricultural form, and that more change is inevitable. She said conversations are needed now to determine how to capture the tourism data if the state moves from a digital agricultural declaration form to an advance notice. Luke said the optional tourism questions currently have about about a 40 % compliance rate. She said the Legislature has provided the Hawai 'i Tourism Authority with $3 million to begin planning for a smart tourism app, which could incorporate visitor data into a whole tourism experience. 'People cannot wait until some things are done, and then they panic and react, ' Luke said.
