Companies and visitors are trying harder than ever to get into Hawaii

Hawaii, buffeted in the aftermath of the U.S. recession and Japan’s tsunami, is benefiting from a travel rebound that’s sent tourism revenue to a record and spurred real estate investments across the islands. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. last month announced a $1.85 billion loan for a once-distressed hotel portfolio that has five Hawaiian properties, including the Sheraton Waikiki and the Westin Moana Surfrider in Honolulu. Companies from Walt Disney Co. to Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. are expanding resorts. On the Big Island, the first new residential development in at least five years is starting construction. Property investors and lenders are seeking to take advantage of increased demand from affluent Asian travelers and visitors from Northern California enriched by the technology- industry boom, according to Honolulu-based Hospitality Advisors LLC, an industry consulting firm. Oahu, which attracts the most visitors of Hawaii’s eight major islands, has the highest hotel occupancy among the top 25 U.S. markets, research firm STR said. “What’s driving Hawaii now, particularly Oahu, is the resurgence of the Japanese market -- there was a lot of pent-up demand after the tsunami -- and substantial growth in Chinese and Korean numbers because of the increase in wealth in those regions,” said Joseph Toy, president of Hospitality Advisors. Lodging and tourist-industry revenue, including room rentals and food and retail sales, rose 15 percent to a record $3.62 billion this year through Sept. 30, according to Hospitality Advisors. That compared with a low of $2.59 billion in the first nine months of 2009, when the U.S. was in a recession after the credit crisis. Japan Tsunami Travel was also reduced by the March 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands of people and led to the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl, according to Hawaii’s tourism board. Mary MacNeill, managing director at Fitch Ratings, predicted at the time that the disaster would set back a recovery by one to two years. “Tourism bounced back sooner than expected,” she said in an e-mail last week. “The Japanese tourism decline was not as great as originally expected. In addition, other markets, particular