Drop in Japanese yen could hurt Hawaii tourism

Drop in Japanese yen could hurt Hawaii tourism

HONOLULU (AP) — A drop in the value of the yen could be bad news for Hawaii’s tourism industry.

That’s because the yen is weakening as the dollar is strengthening.

On Thursday the dollar traded above 100 yen for the first time since April 2009. Japan Airlines says the drop in the yen’s value may have contributed to a 2.9 percent decline in Japanese visitors to Hawaii during the Golden Week string of national holidays from April 26 to May 6.

The airline says it carried 26,573 passengers to Hawaii from Japan over the recently concluded holidays.