Major tour companies and legacy air carriers for Hawaii’s Japan tourism market are reporting double-digit gains for this year’s “Super Golden Week,” a 10-day period of consecutive national holidays.

Golden Week, a stretch of four national holidays in a seven-day period at the end of April and beginning of May, is a popular time for Japanese visitors to make a trip to Hawaii. But this year’s Golden Week has been extended to 10 days, from April 27 until May 6, because Japanese Emperor Akihito is scheduled to abdicate the Chrysanthemum Throne on April 30. His son, Crown Prince Naruhito, will replace him on May 1.

The extra three days make it more convenient for Japanese travelers to use vacation, especially on long-haul trips, said Hiroyuki “Keith” Kitagawa, who on Jan. 1 became president and CEO of JTB, Hawaii’s largest destination management organization. Demand is so high that JTB expects nearly 40 percent more Golden Week visitors this year than last, Kitagawa said. Some 8,700 have already made a Golden Week booking through JTB, which has placed more than 17,360 would-be travelers on a waitlist, he said.

Eric Takahata, managing director of Hawaii Tourism Japan, said some travelers have paid as much as $5,000 for one economy­-class airline seat during Super Golden Week. Most travelers are paying at least a 30 to 40 percent premium to visit Hawaii during the extended holiday, he said.

But Golden Week isn’t the only development that could bring renewed luster to Hawaii’s Japan tourism market.

“We have the holidays lined up, along with important anniversaries, new planes coming and several big marketing pushes,” said Danny Ojiri, vice president of market development for Outrigger Hospitality Group. “Japan will probably have a better year this year than last year.”

In March, Japanese Kabuki will return to Hawaii for the first time in more than half a century to mark the 25th anniversary of the Honolulu Festival and the 150th anniversary of the first organized Japanese group to immigrate to Hawaii.

Tatsuo Watanabe, director of the Honolulu Festival Foundation, said 3,750 visiting participants and guests will come to Hawaii for this year’s festival, which also includes a parade in Waikiki and an extended 25-minute Nagaoka fireworks show. Festival-­related arrivals are up nearly 18 percent from last year.

Kitagawa said April also marks the start of a yearlong JTB “Global Destination” campaign,” which invests $8 million into marketing Hawaii. In addition, Ojiri said Hawaii also is benefiting from H.I.S. travel agency’s “Hawai’i Daiseiko Campaign,” All Nippon Airways’ promotion of its planned A380 service, which starts May 24 and can seat more than 500, and Japan Airlines’ “Style Yourself” Hawaii campaign.

The renewed focus capitalizes on Hawaii island’s post-eruption recovery effort, which includes trying to bolster performance for direct flights between Japan and Kona. Hawaii Tourism Authority reported Thursday that planes used for JAL and Hawaiian Airlines’ direct routes between Japan and Kona were only running load factor percentages in the high 50s to low 60s in January 2019 as compared with the mid- to high 70s in January 2018.

The Japanese tourism market overall ended slightly down in 2018. In addition to the four-month eruption of Kilauea Volcano, which temporarily closed much of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island, there were also Hurricanes Lane and Olivia. Typhoon Jebi, which struck Japan on Sept. 4, also caused flight cancellations and closed Kansai International Airport for almost two weeks.

Last year Japanese visitors to Hawaii dropped 1 percent to 1.59 million, a number far short of the peak 2.2 million visitors that came here in 1997. However, January arrivals from Japan rose nearly 6 percent to 125,504 visitors, and things are looking up from there.

Super Golden Week marketing efforts also are timed to coincide with a push from the Japanese government to get workers to use their paid days off.

“Japan’s been having issues with overwork. They have more holidays than we do, but they are not known for taking what’s due them,” Ojiri said. “The government is encouraging employers to encourage their employees to take more time off.”

The reason why this development could be a boon for Hawaii is that most Japanese travelers who visit Hawaii come for pleasure. Last year only 105,213 visitors from Japan to Hawaii traveled here for a business incentive, event, meeting or convention.

Getting a higher percentage of Japan’s workforce to use their vacation days would bolster Hawaii tourism, Kitagawa said. But so would growing the meetings, incentive convention and event market, he said. That’s why the company has partnered with Snow Peak, an outdoor lifestyle company, to provide “glamping,” or glamorous camping, gear that JTB plans to start selling in April as part of its “Workation” program.

While “Workation” is expected to become part of the daily activities that JTB offers to leisure travelers, Kitagawa envisions the new product to play a major role in attracting more meetings, convention, incentive and event business. He has identified opportunities for growth in Japan’s group business market, which is less mature or saturated than the historically dominant leisure market.

“We can set up meetings in both indoor and outdoor settings. Conducting business meetings in a more casual camping-type atmosphere has become popular in Japan,” he said. “There’s also some crossover into the leisure market. They can come here on business and extend a few days for vacation, or maybe they’ll come back and vacation here later.”

‘SUPER GOLDEN WEEK’ LINEUP

>> April 29: Showa Day, birthday of the late Emperor Showa, or Hirohito, who reigned over Japan from December 1926 to his death on Jan. 7, 1989. He is the father of the current emperor, Akihito.

>> April 30: Japanese Emperor Akihito slated to abdicate the Chrysanthemum Throne.

>> May 1: Crown Prince Naruhito slated to ascend to the Chrysanthemum Throne.

>> May 2: Japanese law specifies that weekdays sandwiched between public holidays become holidays.

>> May 3: Constitution Day marks the 1947 ratification of the Japanese constitution.

>> May 4: Greenery Day honors nature.

>> May 5: Children’s Day celebrates children’s personalities and their happiness.

>> May 6: Children’s Day holiday observed since the holiday fell on a Sunday.