Bill Text: HI SR35 | 2015 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Hospitality Industry; International Visitors; Hawaii Tourism Authority; H-1B Visa Amendments

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-31 - Report adopted, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. [SR35 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2015-SR35-Amended.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	35
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING THE HAWAII TOURISM AUTHORITY TO COORDINATE WITH the hospitality industry, Corporation for travel promotion, and Hawaii's Congressional Delegation to amend the H-1B visa law to allow for employment of persons with cultural and language skills that will help create a more welcoming environment for international visitors.

 

 

     WHEREAS, the tourism industry constitutes the largest single contributor to the State's gross domestic product, representing approximately twenty-one percent of its economy; and

 

     WHEREAS, the United States Congress passed the Travel Promotion Act of 2009 that established the Corporation for Travel Promotion with the power, among other duties, to:

     (1)  Provide useful information to foreign tourists interested in traveling to the United States;

     (2)  Maximize the economic and diplomatic benefits of travel to the United States by promoting the United States to world travelers; and

     (3)  Ensure that international travel benefits all states and identify opportunities and strategies to promote tourism to international travelers; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's top four visitor markets, which have traditionally been the western United States, eastern United States, Japan, and Canada, now include the emerging Other Asia tourism markets of China, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, which has increased by 16.5 percent; and

 

     WHEREAS, it is important for the State to diversify its visitor markets so that weakness in a particular market at any given time can be offset by strength in another; and

 

     WHEREAS, nonstop air service to Hawaii has grown significantly from Asia recently, including re-established service from Taipei, new service from Beijing, and expanded service from Shanghai; and

 

     WHEREAS, while the hospitality industry in Hawaii has gained valuable insights and experience regarding the preferences and expectations of Japanese travelers and has worked diligently to create a welcoming environment for them, an important factor in the evolution of the Hawaii visitor industry in creating a more welcoming environment for international visitors, including visitors from the Other Asia tourism market, is the availability of people who understand the culture and mores of the foreign visitor and have the skills to read, write, and speak with foreign visitors at an honorific level; and

 

     WHEREAS, the H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows a United States company to employ a foreign individual who has a high degree of specialized knowledge in a "specialty occupation" for up to six years; and

 

     WHEREAS, the description of "specialized occupation" under the H-1B visa does not include employees with cultural qualifications and skills in reading, writing, and speaking in the language of international visitors; and

 

     WHEREAS, the H-1B visa law requires amendments before the hospitality industry may hire more employees who are fluent in the languages of international visitors, with the cultural, reading, and writing skills to communicate with international visitors; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, that the Hawaii Tourism Authority is urged to coordinate with the hospitality industry, Corporation for Travel Promotion, and Hawaii's congressional delegation to seek amendments to the H-1B visa law to amend the definition of "specialized occupation" to include employees who are fluent in the languages of international visitors, with the cultural, reading, and writing skills necessary to communicate with international visitors; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for Travel Promotion, and Hawaii's congressional delegation.

Report Title: 

Hospitality Industry; International Visitors; Hawaii Tourism Authority; H-1B Visa Amendments