Daniel Inouye: “Tourism is the No. 1 industry in the State of Hawaii. The State has expressed an interest in extending the current Visa…”

“Tourism is the No. 1 industry in the State of Hawaii. The State has expressed an interest in extending the current Visa Waiver Pilot Program to other Asian countries, particularly the Republic of Korea. The current Visa Waiver Pilot Program covers only three countries in the Asia-Pacific region: Japan, New Zealand, and Brunei. New Zealand, Canada, and Guam all have visa waiver agreements with Korea. Since implementing visa waiver agreements with Korea, arrivals increased in the first year by 285 percent to New Zealand, 96 percent to Canada, and 147 percent to Guam. In 1995, the State of Hawaii welcomed over 120,000 visitors from Korea, and the State is anxious to see future growth in visitors from this important emerging market. Travel and tourism also play a major role in reducing the United States unfavorable balance of trade. There is an increasing demand by citizens of the Republic of Korea to visit the United States. In fiscal year 1994, 320,747 nonimmigrant visas were issued to Korean travelers. In fiscal year 1995, 394,044 nonimmigrants visas were issued to Korean travelers. Of this amount, 320,120 were tourist visas. The Republic of Korea is not eligible to participate in the current Visa Waiver Pilot Program.”