With fewer tourists in the Chinatown area because of the overall softening in the visitor industry, merchants are hoping that next week's Splendor of China Cultural Festival & Tradeshow will spark renewed interest among visitors as well as residents in shopping at downtown businesses.

The festival runs Oct. 4 and 5 at the Blaisdell Center's Exhibition Hall and is sponsored by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii. There will be more than 130 booths, featuring food, goods and cultural exhibits, as well as performers from China and celebrity chef Martin Yan.

Last year's festival drew about 11,000 people, up 32 percent from 2006, according to the organizer. The event has grown steadily since it began in 2003 with 43 booths and 2,800 attendees. Chamber representatives and vendors are counting on this year's festival to be even more successful.

Each year, merchants in Chinatown and businesses with Chinese-related products have reported increases in customers and sales immediately following the festival. Business owners this year are hoping for the same, despite the slowing economy that's making it difficult for many people to make ends meet.

Ryan Chen, owner of Americomb House in Chinatown, said there has been a noticeable decline in the number of tourists who stop in the area to shop and eat. He said the loss of two major airlines, as well as NCL pulling out two cruise ships, has definitely hurt business.

"Business in Chinatown is a little bit slow, especially with tourists. You can say it's completely different from before," Chen said. "I hope this event will bring more people. Last year it did."

Chen's shop carries wooden combs and other products from China and he said his customer base is about half visitor, half local. He's had a booth at the festival since the beginning and will have two at this year's event.

"The festival is good for us, good for our business," Chen said.

Jeff Lau, festival chairman, said he expects a large turnout this year. He said the interest generated by the recent Beijing Olympics should help draw people to the event.

"Hopefully, people who either visited (Beijing) or watched some of it on TV might be interested in coming to see some of the acts that we're going to have, see some of the cultural booths and look at some of these merchants and see whether there's anything interesting for them to by," Lau said.

Lau said this year the chamber also will be reaching out to Waikiki hotels to try to attract more visitors to the festival. He said three Sheraton hotels will host "sneak previews" featuring festival acts Oct. 3, and the chamber will sponsor a lion dance through Waikiki.

"There's potential there," Lau said. "It's another gem for visitors to come and see, and hopefully by doing Splendor, more people will catch the bus or make Chinatown a stop on their vacation travels."

Although not in Chinatown, Air and Sea Travel Center, which specializes in tours to China, has had a booth at the festival for years.

Derrick Kaw, Air and Sea Travel vice president, said the agency benefits from the large number of people who attend the show.

"You know that people are interested in food, so if we set up a booth there, we might be able to create some awareness for our company," Kaw said. "... (The festival) has slowly developed from instead of just an eating show, you have a little bit of everything, and people get to know more about other products."

Kaw said skyrocketing airfares have hurt the travel industry everywhere, but he believes that the interest generated by the Olympics will lead to more travel to China. He said that may not happen this year because post-Olympic accommodations are still expensive in China, but that next year should be a better time to travel.

"Even though the economy isn't doing so well and people have that thinking, 'Stay back and watch, stay back and watch,' when the time comes and they feel comfortable, they will go on a trip," Kaw said. "Going to China will give them a little bit more for their money. The U.S. dollar still has better value for them in China , versus in someplace like Europe."