HONOLULU -- Tourism officials in the islands said Hawaii is well positioned to offer an alternative to Mexico, where the swine flu appears to be concentrated.

More visitors come to Hawaii every year from the West Coast, more than 2.5 million, than from any other place in the world.

Hawaii's strongest competitor is Mexico because resorts there offer low prices and it is quicker to travel to Mexico from the West Coast than to Hawaii. People are already canceling their trips to Mexico because of the outbreak.

"It's pretty dodgy down there, so we just thought, not worth it. Not worth it at all," said Brad Fogerty, who canceled his two-week trip to Mexico.

Swine flu is expected to devastate Mexican tourism, as news spreads that more than 100 people have died in Mexico and the U.S. government advised people to avoid nonessential travel to the country.

"We don't want to weigh in on something negative for another destination, but as an option, Hawaii is a definite viable option," Hawaii Tourism Authority Vice President of Marketing David Uchiyama said. "Hawaii has never been a better value than it is right now, and I think people that are looking for a vacation option would definitely consider Hawaii."

Just last month, state tourism officials and the Hawaii visitor industry launched a marketing blitz in San Francisco and Northern California with more than $2 million worth of advertising and promotions.

"From people dancing the hula at the bottom of business buildings to promotions going on in Gordon Biersch across Northern California, where we were having aloha Friday," Uchiyama said.

The problem is, if the swine flu virus spreads widely and scares enough people not to travel at all, Hawaii tourism will be hard hit.

"Anytime you have something that's not controlled and containable, concern lingers for everybody traveling," Uchiyama said.