The City and County of Honolulu has formally entered into a sister city agreement between Honolulu and Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan with a signing ceremony on May 31. Ahead of the signing, a University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa tourism expert provided guidance to a Shibuya city delegation, including Mayor Ken Hasebe.
The delegation met with School of Travel Industry Management (TIM) Professor Jerry Agrusa, along with Director and Professor of TIM Daniel Spencer at UH Mānoa in December 2023, to discuss an emerging practice called regenerative tourism. Regenerative tourism is a new form of tourism where “visitors leave the destination in better condition than when they first arrived at the destination.” In addition, regenerative tourism aims to restore, rejuvenate and enhance the health and well-being of destinations, in addition to benefiting the local communities and ecosystems.
Hawaiʻi has implemented regenerative tourism practices, such as Mālama Hawaiʻi, which encourages visitors to engage in volunteer activities to benefit the environment and community, and community-based initiatives such as visitor access management to ensure benefits to the community and minimal environmental impacts. The Shibuya delegation wanted to learn more about them from Agrusa, an expert in the practice.
“It was a great experience providing guidance to the leaders of Shibuya city in Japan,” Agrusa said. “Sharing our expertise in the field of regenerative tourism helped fulfill some of the goals in the Shidler College of Business Strategic Plan 2023-2028 by producing research relevant and beneficial to Hawaiʻi, the Asia-Pacific region, and the world, as well as UH Mānoa, which include, Excellence in Research, Building a Sustainable and Resilient Campus Environment and Becoming a Native Hawaiian Place of Learning.”
More on the sister city signing
Honolulu city leaders met with Shibuya leaders during the signing ceremony at the Hawaiʻi Expo 2024 in Shibuya. Shibuya became Honolulu’s 36th sister city relationship and the 9th in Japan. The sister city agreement aims to promote cultural exchange, economic cooperation and shared best practices between Honolulu and Shibuya.
“The City and County of Honolulu is thrilled to establish a Sister City partnership with Shibuya, Tokyo,” said Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi. “This agreement symbolizes the strong bonds of friendship and cultural exchange between our cities. We look forward to collaborating on initiatives that will enrich both communities and foster mutual understanding and growth.”
