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Hawaii seems like the least of politically active American states. It only acquired statehood - and thus Congressional representation and presidential voting rights - a few decades back and far enough from the mainland and so distracting with its beautiful beaches, waterfalls, forests and surfing so as not to be so much in the debate as people elsewhere.
Nonetheless, Hawaii is highlighting its politics in an effort to boost tourism during the world recession:
Tourism declined by more than 10% in 2008, and probably slid by a further 5% or so in 2009. Visitors, when they do come, are staying fewer days and spending less. Last June, hotel-room occupancy hit a low of 61%.
The University of Hawaii Economic Research Organisation does not expect tourism to return to its 2006 peak levels of over 7m visitors until 2012. That hurts: around three-quarters of Hawaiian jobs are tied in some way to the tourism industry according to Leroy Laney, an economist at Hawaii Pacific University. The slump has helped drive unemployment from 2.6% in 2007 to an estimated 7% in 2009.
Hawaii has a solution for the slump: Barack Obama and Sun Yat-sen.
President Obama - as is well-known - grew up in the state and spends his Christmas vacations there. Hawaii's tourism office is trying to capitalize on the president's popularity and his connection with the state in an effort to lure people who may be interested in the roots of Obama or just made informed of Hawaii's beaches because of the news coverage that accompanies Obama (just the other day I knew I had to get to Hawaii after I see a CNN reporter broadcast from there):
Its official tourism site has a page dedicated to Mr Obama’s favourite activities in Hawaii (where he was born and partly brought up), which quotes his wife as saying that “You can’t really understand Barack until you understand Hawaii.” Tour companies shuttle people between places Mr Obama used to frequent, including the building where he lived.
As for Sun Yat-sen, he is the founder of modern China and was educated in Hawaii. The Aloha state already attracts numerous Japanese, and as the Chinese grow richer Hawaii is trying to lure them by building a personal bridge.
Personally, I do not believe that politics factors in vacation considerations since vacations are all about forgetting about politics. And in Hawaii you can definitely do that:
