Latest news with #DepartmentofBusiness
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
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Going digital: New digital tourism survey to launch in June
HONOLULU (KHON2) — A new digital push is taking off in Hawaii, this time aimed at understanding our visitors better. After a promising run with the digital agricultural forms, the state is preparing to launch a digital tourism survey that could better support Hawaii's economic future. Future of Oahu's landfill in limbo as leaders look at other options They come for the sun, surf and aloha spirit, but state officials are hoping that Hawaii visitors leave behind something just as valuable as their vacation dollars, something as simple as data. Next month, the state will roll out a digital tourism survey, similar to the paper survey you're asked to fill out on flights, but accessible on your smart phones or laptops. It's the latest chapter in embracing technology to better manage the impacts of travel and tourism. 'We used to get between 70 and 80 percent of people filling it out. So, we hope to get the same. Now it's digital, so it's real quick and you don't have to go ask your neighbors for a pen,' said James Tokioka, the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism tourism survey follows the state's digital agricultural declaration form that was launched in March. The pilot project has proven successful. In a statement from the lieutenant governor, when the pilot started the form had around a 60% compliance rate compared to recent weeks' compliance rate of around 74%. The pilot included 30% of the airlines participating. Due to the success, the pilot program will be extended at least to the end of the year and to add more airlines. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news 'We'll get 50% of the airlines, and then after that, we'll just try to get as many as we can, till we get 100% of them,' Tokioka said. But for the last three months of the pilot project, survey data has been missing. A gap that state officials say was intentional to focus on the agricultural form participation numbers. But officials say that data is now up to date. 'For the forecasters now, all of that data has been back filled. So all of that data is there now. So for the three month period, how it affected it? It affected it at that time. But now we're getting the daily counts,' Tokioka said. Window tint crackdown? 5 things to know about Hawaiʻi's new bill State Senator Glenn Wakai, a longtime supporter of the digital forms, said that even without perfect response rate the state could benefit from the data. 'With tourism data, you don't need 100 percent response rate. You can extrapolate from a 60 percent response rate as to what is compelling people to come here, and how much they're spending here,' Wakai said. It's your chance to have dessert with Dolly Parton The state says the survey remains voluntary and isn't just about convenience, it's about control– being able to predict trends and plan for things such as infrastructure investments. They also intend to update the exit survey for international visitors to get more valuable data. 'Hawaii has the best tourism data in the nation, because Hawaii is the only state that mandates this kind of information,' Wakai said. 'This is something that is unique to Hawaii that we should really capitalize on, take ownership of it and make it better with digitization.' Paper forms are available as backups for passengers who do not have devices to complete the forms. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Secrets to selling local Hawaiʻi-made products revealed
HONOLULU (KHON2) — The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) will host its third annual Hawaiʻi-Made Conference on Tuesday, May 20. This year's theme is I Ka Mākeke! Going to Market! The event will bring together entrepreneurs, retailers, lawmakers and industry leaders from across the state for a full day of learning and connection. Hard times made tougher as small businesses deal with theft, vandalism Held at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center, the conference highlights the rising strength of local manufacturing. Here's what you need to know. Not all products fit every market. The first two sessions break down how local goods perform in different spaces. You'll hear directly from event leaders like Lauren Zirbel from the Made in Hawaiʻi Festival and panelists with insights on local consumer shows and visitor-focused markets. Selling locally through pop-ups or events like the Made in Maui County Festival offers direct access to community feedback. Meanwhile, marketing to tourists, whether from the continental U.S. or Japan, requires cultural awareness and clear branding. Knowing the audience helps small producers make informed decisions before launching a product. The conference is much more than panels and presentations. It's a space to meet buyers, mentors and policymakers face-to-face. From the coffee networking breaks to the keynote luncheon, attendees will get to build relationships that can open doors. Meli James of Mana Up, who will give the keynote, will share what buyers actually look for when scouting local brands. If you're building a business, these are the kinds of conversations that make a Five outlines the many ways Hawaiʻi's government is backing food and beverage producers. You'll hear from Senator Donovan Dela Cruz, Representative Kirstin Kahaloa and Denise Yamaguchi of the Hawaiʻi Ag & Culinary Alliance. They'll share programs, grants and collaborations that help local makers expand without going it alone. This is your chance to understand where policy meets production and how to plug into it. If your business is ready to grow but not ready for a full facility, commercial kitchens are key. Experts from the Hilo Food Hub and Maui Food Innovation Center will explain how shared spaces help reduce costs and turn good ideas into sellable products. Chris Bailey of the Wahiawā Value-Added Product Development Center will guide the discussion on how these kitchens can spark innovation and collaboration between businesses. Third annual Hawaii-made Conference addresses issues small businesses face Japanese visitors shop differently than American tourists. They often look for presentation, quality and brand story. Session 3 focuses on what makes products stand out in this specific market. Panelists include leaders from Hawaiian King Candies, Studio Rim Hawaiʻi and Dean & Deluca Hawaiʻi. They'll break down how to adjust packaging, ingredients or messaging to match what Japanese visitors value most. DBEDT's Hawaiʻi Made directory is a free platform for companies that manufacture most of their products in the islands. This online hub makes it easier for shoppers to find local businesses and helps companies reach new audiences. Businesses can apply to be listed, and resources like INNOVATE Hawaiʻi offer tools to improve operations, add e-commerce functions and grow sustainably. Click for more information on the event as well as the full listing of panels, events, dates and times. Get news on the go with KHON 2GO, KHON's morning podcast, every morning at 8 For those who want to be part of Hawaiʻi's future economy, the conference offers a clear path forward that's grounded in local values and open to the world. 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
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Third annual Hawaii-made Conference addresses issues small businesses face
HONOLULU (KHON2) — It's an important event for Hawaii's small businesses. The third annual Hawaii-Made Conference will take place May 20 at the Hawaii Convention Center. The event will be hosted by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Hard times made tougher as small businesses deal with theft, vandalism According to DBEDT Deputy Director Dane Wicker, DBEDT's mission is to support a diverse and globally competitive economy for Hawai'i. The Hawai'i-Made Conference brings together entrepreneurs, manufacturers, retailers and policymakers to strengthen our product-based designed to give local business owners access to the tools, insights, and connections they need to scale — whether that means breaking into visitor markets, expanding retail opportunities or overcoming production challenges. Wicker noted that when our entrepreneurs thrive, so does the economy. Meli James, who is the co-founder of Mana Up, is the keynote speaker this year. She told KHON2 she wants to help founders understand what makes Hawai'i-made brands truly stand out — not just to consumers, but also to retail buyers. James added that it starts with a great product, but also includes the story behind it, the ability to scale and the openness to evolve. Her goal is to inspire people to think big while giving them practical strategies they can apply right away. Check out more news from around Hawaii Registration is open now at The $50 fee includes access to all sessions, networking opportunities, and the keynote luncheon with Meli James. It's a full day packed with valuable insights, tools, and networking for anyone looking to grow their Hawai'i-based product business. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
