Tourism officials in Honolulu, Hawaii have claimed that the economy will get a major boost due to the introduction of new direct flights from China to Hawaii. The first of these flights arrived at in Honolulu on 9th August, Tuesday. The first flight contained around 300 Chinese passengers, who were all given the traditional Hawaiian welcome, with flower lei garlands. Tourism officials estimated that the annual visitor spending from these flights would come to around $60 million. The direct flights are scheduled two times a week and start from Shanghai. China Eastern Airlines has introduced the bi-weekly flights, and a spokesperson for CEA stated that the booming economy in China has resulted in Chinese people making more and more trips abroad for travel and recreation, and Hawaii is the perfect destination.