The growing international influence on the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani’s global gingerbread village is like an edible metaphor for Hawaii’s visitor industry, which has seen foreign arrivals who came by air increase by 16.8 percent through the first 10 months of this year.

While the hotel’s executive chef, Ralf Bauer, has long constructed a gingerbread village in Waikiki, this year’s masterpiece has expanded by about 100 feet to incorporate additional international destinations in honor of the hotel’s growing global base.

"International growth in Hawaii has been significant," said Keith Vieira, senior vice president and director of operations for Starwood Hotels and Resorts in Hawaii and French Polynesia. "Certainly the Japan business has continued to grow and rebound throughout the year. We’ve also had nice growth out of Australia and Canada, and we’ve had big percentage increases, albeit still small numbers, out of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and China."

The Hawaii Tourism Authority has reported that nearly 2.42 million foreign visitors came to Hawaii through the first 10 months of 2012 and spent $5.1 billion, a 31.5 percent increase from the same period in 2011. Foreign visitors made up 37.3 percent of all visitors arriving by air and 43.4 percent of their spending for January to October 2012.

Vieira estimated that as much as 45 percent of Starwood’s visitor traffic on Oahu this year has been due to foreign travelers.

"International growth has been very positive and has had an overall compression effect in Waikiki and on Maui, although we are still working on growing our distribution in Kauai and on (Hawaii island)," he said.

The global gingerbread village is a reminder to staff of how important international visitors are to Hawaii and that they have different cultures and needs, Vieira said. It also signifies that Hawaii is an international destination that welcomes all visitors, he said.

Bauer’s 14-by-24-foot gift to Hawaii’s foreign travelers incorporates 250 gallons of icing, 150 pounds of dark chocolate, 50 pounds of white chocolate and 90 sheets of gingerbread. Bauer, pantry chef Amie Tungpalan, executive sous-chef John Hightower and the hotel’s engineering department spent more than 800 hours starting in August designing, constructing and setting up their labor of aloha.

"We build the entire structure new every year," Bauer said. "People come from all over the world. I want them to say that they’ve never seen anything like this before and that they identify with what they see. I’ve heard from people from nearly every country represented in the village, except France. Personally, I think when they see it, they will say that it is, ‘C’est magnifique!’" 

When Bauer started the village almost two decades ago, it reflected the quaint mountainside scenery of his native Germany. There were medieval churches, bell towers, train stations, a carousel, a skating rink and a castle. Later he added a Swiss chalet and the Alps. Several of the fantasy pieces, like Mount Isabelle and Logan’s Run, are named for Bauer’s children, whom he said are among the village’s biggest fans.

The Washington Monument, surrounded by all the state flags, resides in a fantasy Maintown, USA, village complete with a pastry shop named for Bauer’s main village assistant Tungpalan, a hula studio and a hot dog stand. Hawaii landmarks such as Kawaiaha‘o Church, the Moana Surfrider, Iolani Palace and Aloha Tower also appear. There’s even a Wai­mea Falls Park and a Haiku cable car, named after Oahu’s Haiku Stairs — aka the Stairway to Heaven hiking trail.

It’s no wonder that the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani won "Orbitz Best Decked Out Holiday Hotel" in 2009 and 2010 for providing holiday cheer with the gingerbread village to visitors traveling during the season.

This year Bauer themed the village "Hawaii and the World, a Global Holiday Celebration" and added the Eiffel Tower from France, the Tower Bridge from London and the Yaku­shiji Temple in Nara Deer Park, which was inspired by Bauer’s visit to Japan a few years ago.

"I was really impressed by the East Pagoda," Bauer said. "I wanted to include the Japa­nese pagoda as a warm gesture to our many Japa­nese guests. Honestly, though, I think this is one of the best buildings that I have ever built."

On a recent Thursday the Pagoda captured the attention of Yudai Tanaka, a 6-year-old visitor from Kana­gawa, Japan, who was following Bauer around like the Pied Piper.

"He loves it," said Yudai’s grandmother Yuriko Kasamo. "He probably won’t leave this site."

The number of Japa­nese guests at the Princess Kaiulani and throughout Hawaii is growing.

The HTA reported that Japa­nese arrivals overtook U.S. East visitors in October, the latest month available for statistics, as Hawaii’s second-largest tourism market after its core U.S. West visitors.

The growth of international visitor arrivals coupled with steady traffic from the U.S. means that the gingerbread village is sure to get plenty of exposure this year, Vieira said.

On Oahu, Starwood expects to be sold out from Dec. 23 to Jan. 3, and the chain will probably be sold out for seven or eight holiday days on the neighbor islands as well.

"It’s a good holiday. We’re solid earlier than we’ve been in the past," he said. "Having more seats, especially direct seats out of key markets, made it easier for visitors to choose Hawaii over the three or four other destinations that they might have been considering."

The village itself boosts holiday visitor traffic to the Princess Kaiulani and all of its food and beverage outlets.

"We have people coming every year," Bauer said. "Some come every day to look. It turns grown people into kids."

Dianne and George Shaw, visitors from Calgary, Alberta, were proof of Bauer’s observation.

The Shaws, who first saw the gingerbread village a few years ago, come every year to see it. This year they were especially glad to find the Canadian flag flying on Aloha Tower.

"We come just about every day to see it," said Dianne Shaw. "It’s heartening to see something as wonderful as this."