SCR52 HD1

WHEREAS, in 2007, 587,000 visitors from Taiwan arrived in the United States, representing just 6.5 percent of the total outbound travelers from Taiwan; and

WHEREAS, this figure was a decline from 6.8 percent in 2006, and is a ten percent decline from the number of travelers from Taiwan to the United States in 2005; and

WHEREAS, the number of Taiwanese visiting Hawaii in 2006 was approximately 15,450 visitors, not a significant percentage of all visitors to Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, the data indicates that the Taiwan visitor market is a huge potential source of tourists to Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, promotion of diversification of Hawaii's tourism markets is a logical and important public policy goal that helps to mitigate the adverse impacts of a volatile tourism industry; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii needs to be promoted in Taiwan as a tourism destination to increase the number of visitors from Taiwan, which coincidentally share many of the ethnic and cultural traits of Hawaii residents; and

WHEREAS, the Visa Waiver Program of the United States allows citizens of certain countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business purposes for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa, with all participating countries being developed countries; and

WHEREAS, Taiwan, though developed, is not a participant in the Visa Waiver Program; and

WHEREAS, the federal Secure Travel and Counterterrorism Partnership Act of 2007, Public Law 110-53, directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a pilot program to expand visa waivers to qualifying countries; and

WHEREAS, a visa waiver may be granted to a country if:

(1) The country meets all security requirements of the Act;

(2) The Secretary of Homeland Security determines that the totality of the country's security risk mitigation measures provide assurance that the country's participation in the program would not compromise the law enforcement, security interests, or enforcement of the immigration laws of the United States;

(3) There has been a sustained reduction in the rate of refusals for nonimmigrant visas for nationals of the country and conditions exist to continue such reduction;

(4) The country cooperated with the government of the United States on counterterrorism initiatives, information sharing, and preventing terrorist travel before the date of its designation as a program country, and the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State expect such cooperation will continue; and

(5) The rate of refusals for nonimmigrant visitor visas for nationals of the country during the previous full fiscal year was not more than ten percent or the visa overstay rate for the country for the previous full fiscal year has not exceeded the maximum established visa overstay rate;

and

WHEREAS, Taiwan meets each of the foregoing requirements; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and the Hawaii Tourism Authority are requested to implement programs to increase the number of visitors from Taiwan to the maximum extent possible; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Southern Taiwan visa office is requested to find ways to allow people to receive visas without having to travel to Northern Taiwan; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and the United States Department of Homeland Security are requested to add Taiwan to the list of visa waivers; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and the Hawaii Tourism Authority are requested to assist and cooperate with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and the United States Department of Homeland Security to facilitate the inclusion of Taiwan on the visa waiver list; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism is requested to develop a list of Hawaii-made products appropriate for exportation to Taiwan; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Secretary of Homeland Security, Secretary of the State Department, Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Governor of the State of Hawaii, Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, Executive Director of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, and each member of Hawaii's Congressional Delegation.

Report Title:

Taiwan Visa Waiver

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	52
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII