The governor of Hawaii, Linda Lingle, attended the opening ceremony of Hawaii Week in the USA Pavilion at the Expo 2010 Shanghai in an effort to further tap a market, she said, that is essential to the island's future.

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During her fourth visit to China as governor, Lingle will also visit Guangzhou, Kunming and Beijing, after spending a week in Shanghai.

She will hold talks with government officials and business executives to seek business opportunities and promote Hawaii products, culture and tourism.

After a brief traditional dance and music performance, Lingle exchanged ideas with a roomful of Chinese reporters at the USA Pavilion.

"Hawaii is a place beautiful at any time of the year and I here invite all the Chinese people to come and visit," she said.

Chinese visitors now rank as the highest-spending group among all visitors to Hawaii, forking out an average of $320 daily during their trip, Lingle told China Daily.

The number of Chinese visitors to Hawaii in the first quarter was up 23 percent over the same period last year, making it the second-fastest growing group.

"China is a very important market that is crucial to Hawaii's future and I expect the number of Chinese visitors to Hawaii to rise further," Lingle said.

Lingle is advocating direct flights from China to Hawaii to help further increase visitor numbers.

"Negotiations with China Southern Airlines are ongoing. We will talk with more Chinese officials to try and launch direct flights as soon as possible," she said.