NZ Herald Sunday 02 April 2017 HONOLULU (AP) ” Rejected visa applications are keeping thousands of Chinese tourists from visiting Hawaii.
More than 2,000 of the 6,000 Nu Skin distributors in China and Hong Kong that were planning to attend a conference in Hawaii were not able to attend because of visa troubles, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported (http://bit.ly/2onlFGZ). The convention of the direct marketing company that sells personal care products next month is slated to be Hawaii’s largest incentive travel group from China.
Typically, 10 percent to 15 percent of visa applicants for large groups traveling to Hawaii get denied, but the Nu Skin rate was significantly higher.
Hawaii and other U.S. cities looking to increase Chinese tourism have been working with the U.S. Travel Association to advocate for visa improvements. Since a 2011 China U.S. Tourism Leadership Summit was held in Kailua-Kona, reductions in visa processing times and the introduction of nonstop flights and longer-term visas helped spark growth. Read more…
