Pokémon World Championships to boost Hawaii’s economy

WAIKIKI (KHON2) — The 2024 Pokémon World Championships are in town and festivities kicked off on Wednesday, Aug. 14 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

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Thousands of people from around the globe are expected and tourism officials said it is great news for Hawaii’s economy. The Worlds Trainer Town at Hilton Hawaiian was only open to Hawaii residents on Tuesday and adults said no one is too old for Pokémon, even though the popular game is mainly marketed to children.

“She loves it,” Tyler Scott said about his daughter, Emma. “She’s trying to catch them all. I can’t wait to meet all the creators. I got a lot of YouTubers that we subscribe to. We would love to see them, meet them and get their autographs, hopefully.”

“Oh, I don’t think it’s ever too old to play Pokémon, I think, like I’ll play Pokémon the rest of my life, I think,” Kevin said

“Pokémon is for everyone,” Tevahine said.

The World Championships is for the Pokémon card game, which has gained a new popularity in recent years.

“I started playing a year ago but I’ve been collecting since I was like 7,” said 11-year-old Leonardo. “I like Slowpoke, he’s pink and he’s lazy, he’s pretty cool.”

Participants from more than 50 countries will compete in the Championships, organizers said thousands fly in to wherever the host city is and Honolulu will not be an exception.

The 2023 Championships were held in Yokohama — the first time the tournament was in Japan.

“But when we announced that we were having it in Honolulu, everybody lost their mind and it was just pandemonium there. Everyone was so happy,” The Pokémon Company International senior public relations manager Elvin Gee said. “This is our fourth World Championships that we’ve had in the Islands. We’ve had three on the Big Island and this is our first one in Honolulu.”

Over 14,000 people are expected to participate in Honolulu, Hawaii Tourism Japan (HTJ) said arrivals are still down about 50% since COVID but this will be a good boost.

“Our totals from Japan just for this one event will up over 1500 people just on this one event, which is welcome news, Right? With the recovery of the Japanese market to Hawaii,” said HTJ managing director Eric Takahata.

The Trainer Town will be open to everyone starting on Thursday, Aug. 15. The competition will be held in the Convention Center on Friday, Aug. 16, Saturday, Aug. 17 and Sunday, Aug. 18.

“Money coming in, yeah, just it’s going to be wonderful for Oahu and the state of Hawaii,” Scott said.

Parking at the Convention Center will not be allowed during the event — folks are asked to park at Ala Moana Center.