With visitor arrivals from traditional markets on the decline, Hawai'i's tourism officials are focusing more and more attention on China and South Korea, which until now have been something of a niche market here.

Tourism experts predict that eased travel restrictions for both China and South Korea will double the number of visitors from those Asian countries within two years. That growth potential wasn't lost on industry representatives at last week's 2008 Hawai'i Tourism Conference.

Hawai'i Tourism Asia marketing specialist Michael Merner got his presentation moved up to a more prominent time and space at the conference.

He said the numbers are still growing slowly compared to other major markets but the percentages are impressive. Last year, Hawai'i saw a 33.5 percent increase in spending by visitors from these markets.

And an overflow crowd turned out to listen to a presentation by Christopher Park, vice president and general manager of the Wilshire Grand in Los Angeles. With roots in South Korea, familiarity with Hawai'i and expertise in hotels, Park gave tips on catering to the important growing market. He noted that South Korea is America's fifth largest source of foreign visitors.

He urged the industry to work through the Internet, recognizing that South Korea has the seventh largest Internet usage in the world with 90 percent of all households connected to high-speed Internet.

He said 35 percent of South Korean travelers choose their travel destination based on a travel agency, while another 25 percent rely on friends, and 18 percent base their plans on information from Internet.

Park said South Koreans have great expectations of Hawai'i. But he cautioned that status-conscious Koreans want to go on a high-quality vacation.

"Collectively, you can build a so-called high-quality brand for Hawai'i," Park said, thinking a place image that's more like a BMW or Mercedes.

While Koreans hunt for bargains, they aren't looking for a bargain vacation spot, he said. So, he suggested striking a balance: "You need to be careful on pricing."

Park said that early on Guam was popular with South Korean visitors but developed a reputation as "a cheap destination."

And that worked against them, he said. "They don't want to go to cheap places anymore. Everybody can go to cheap places."

He described them as experienced travelers: sophisticated, status conscious, with money. "But they still need to eat Korean food."

ChaoYing Deng, consultant with Elan Enterprises is helping to shape programs to train tourism workers for the growing Chinese market.

She urged industry officials to cater to the Chinese as a growing group that is now spending about $1,000 per person per trip, excluding lodging and transportation.

The bulk of their spending — about 71 percent — is on shopping, said Deng, who noted that Chinese have a gift-giving tradition similar to Japanese omiyage.

But they spend only 1.2 percent percent on food, she said, adding that the tendency to not budget for food can present a big problem.

Deng said she's heard the complaint: "Chinese food in Hawaii sucks." But organizers of dinners for tour groups respond, "They gave us $8 per person for dinner. What can I do?"

She said Chinese remain "brand conscious and frugal" but are likely to spend liberally on things such as vitamins, Hawaiian nuts, chocolates and coffee.

Deng urged industry workers to not assume that everyone who looks Asian is Japanese.

"Chinese are proud people; they don't want to be misunderstood as Japanese or Korean," she said. She advised holding back on the Japanese greeting or the Japanese menu until they are certain they have the right country of origin figured.

She suggested businesses add some Chinese and Korean to signs to make them feel welcome and comfortable.

And she said they may prove a big market for a variety of activities including: "riding in a long limo, sky diving, dinner cruises, and snorkeling."

For hotels, Deng's advice was practical: "Put tea, a water boiler and instant noodles in the room." And she said even inexpensive hotels in China provide little amenities such as toothbrush, toothpaste, razors, etc.

For restaurants, "Add very simple Chinese food to a buffet such as what we in Hawai'i call jook."

U.S. is lagging behind Europe and the rest of Asia in attracting Chinese tourists, Deng said. But they provide a significant and expanding source of potential revenue: "Together, we will succeed. Let's do it."