INVESTMENT in infrastructure was one of the secret ingredients that made Hawaii succeed in its tourism efforts.

So said Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann in a business workshop last Wednesday attended by members of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii (FCCH). The workshop was part of Honolulu’s 21st trade mission to the Philippines.

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Hannemann said Ho-nolulu’s $12.5-billion tourism industry is considered an important economic contributor to the state since three-fourths of Hawaii’s population is based in that county.

Knowing this, he said most of his government’s spending was on infrastructure projects to support development plans and to bring in more investments.

“You have to make sure your government officials invest taxpayers’ money in infrastructure or any other developments will go to waste,” he said.

2-3 times more

He said at least $3.1 billion in new investments are brought in because of the city’s infrastructure projects. This amount, he added, is also two or three times more than what has been allocated for infrastructure developments.

Hannemann said that after the global financial crisis, the economy of Honolulu has been faced with challenges now that people no longer travel much and if they do, don’t stay long.

“But this should not be a reason to stop our marketing efforts,” he said. Instead, the city rolled out a promotions campaign that had him travel frequently to Japan to personally encourage the people to travel to Hawaii.

The Japanese take a big chunk of tourist arrival in Hawaii.

Hannemann said the city is also embarking on a light rail transit (LRT) project, which is considered to have the biggest capital improvement budget at $5.4 billion.

This project, Hanne-mann said, responds to Honolulu’s traffic problem and is a new choice of the people for mode of travel.

“I believe every city should give choices to their citizens,” he added.

The LRT project, which will break ground early next year, is seen to provide Hawaii with 10,000 new jobs.

Cebu and Honolulu forged sister-city agreements last Wednesday.

Government help

Hannemann encouraged stakeholders in the private and public sectors to ask for help from the Honolulu government.

“We have the expertise and we can provide you with experts. I am not one who is afraid to export our expertise,” he said.

Cebu Investments Promotion Center (CIPC) managing director Joel Mari Yu, in an interview with reporters after the program, said Hawaii was Cebu’s model in tourism development.

“We have the biggest potential to learn from Hawaii since we have the same attractions,” Yu said.

Since 1994, Cebu’s tourism masterplan has been patterned after that of Hawaii, he said.