Message from George D. Szigeti
President & CEO
Hawaii Tourism Authority
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Aloha mai kakou,
On March 10, HTA happily announced that the Los Angeles Clippers would be returning to Honolulu for training camp in late September to prepare for the start of the 2018-2019 NBA season.
Details on special events for the public to see and interact with the team are still being worked on and will be announced at a later date.
Last year, HTA’s partnership with the Clippers was a great success for the season-long marketing promotions in southern California, Hawaii’s number one visitor market. But it was how the team embraced Hawaii during training camp last September that made this partnership truly memorable.
My favorite event was the Clippers’ donation of a computer lab to R.L. Stevenson Middle School. The team completely refurbished a former storage room and installed 30 state-of-the-art computers for the students to use, all free of charge to the school. It was a joy to see the smiles on the students’ faces.
In welcoming the Clippers back for a second straight year of training camp, we learned how much the Hawaii experience meant to the team’s development to begin the season.
Gillian Zucker, the Clippers President of Business Operations, said being in Hawaii helped a team with many new players to bond and become closer as teammates. The players and their families enjoyed the beauty and fun of Hawaii and, most of all, the warmth and aloha of our people. That, more than anything, is why the Clippers want to come back.
Another major Hawaii sports event supported by HTA is taking place next month with the LPGA’s 2018 LOTTE Championship at Ko Olina Golf Club, April 8-14.
Along with being a world-class golf tournament in a magnificent setting, the LOTTE Championship attracts golf’s top international players from Asia and Europe.
I encourage golf fans to come out to Ko Olina to support the tournament and see up-close the remarkable tee-to-green skills of these players, including Hawaii’s own champion, Michelle Wie.
The LOTTE Championship is affordable and fan-friendly. Visit online at
www.lottechampionship.com to get tickets and information. Admission is free April 8-10 and only $10 per person April 11-14. All-week passes are only $25. Active duty and retired military service members are admitted free.
Mahalo for your continued support of Hawaii’s tourism industry and HTA.
With Warmest Aloha,
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Celebration of the Arts Returns to Kapalua
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On March 30 and 31, chanting, music and the voices of ancestral knowledge will reverberate through Maui and the halls of The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua at Honokahua as the resort hosts the 26th annual Celebration Of The Arts festival.
Beginning with a traditional early morning ocean cleansing and awa (kava) ceremony, the festival gathers Hawaii’s most reputable artisans, educators, cultural practitioners, speakers and entertainers. Attendees can receive a hula lesson from a kumu hula (hula teacher) participating in the esteemed Merrie Monarch Festival, sit in on artisan panels, enjoy performances by Grammy and Na Hoku Hanohano Hawaii music award-winning musicians, participate in hands-on art activities and demonstrations, view films, and savor Hawaii cuisine.
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Celebration of the Arts is an opportunity to see the finest in Hawaiian arts and culture in one place. For the festival’s full event schedule and more information, visit
KapaluaCelebrationOfTheArts.com.
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The finest in hula, traditional and contemporary Hawaiian arts and Hawaiian food, as well as the company of thousands of hula enthusiasts, will all be part of the experience at the 55th annual Merrie Monarch Festival, set for April 1 to 7 in Hilo on the island of Hawaii.
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The festival’s ascension began with a simple idea. Honor the Merrie Monarch himself (Hawaii’s last king David Kalakaua) by celebrating his most enduring legacy: the return of hula and Hawaiian culture from the shadows. Today, the festival’s three nights of hula competition are regarded as the Olympics of the Hawaiian dance art, with tickets extremely hard to come by. To compete on the Merrie Monarch stage is to perform at the pinnacle of the hula world.
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Maui Steel Guitar Festival
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Now in its 10th year, the Maui Steel Guitar Festival will be held April 13 and 14 at the Kaanapali Beach Hotel in West Maui, and April 15 at the Queen Kaahumanu Center in Kahului.
Hawaiian steel guitar has come a long way since 1885, when 11-year-old Oahu youth Joseph Kekuku first slid a found steel bolt along the strings of his guitar. In addition to becoming a trademark sound of Hawaiian music, the steel guitar has found its way into blues, jazz, country and even rock music genres.
Festival attendees will experience performances by current masters and next-generation steel guitarists, and have an opportunity to enjoy workshops, activities and exhibits related to the instrument. Jam sessions are scheduled on each night of the festival, and all attendees are welcome to bring their own instruments and play with festival performers.
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OAHU
April 6-15
April 6-21
April 8-14
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MAUI
March 30-31
April 13-15
April 14
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ISLAND OF HAWAII
Ongoing through Dec. 31
April 1-7
April 21-May 6
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KAUAI
Ongoing through Dec. 31
Ongoing through Dec. 31
May 1
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HTA Presents Spring Marketing Update
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HTA’s Global Marketing Team convened in Hawaii from March 1 to 10, highlighted by the Spring Marketing Update, held at the Hawaii Convention Center on
March 7. The team shared updates on each market’s 2018 promotional activities with the more than 500 industry partners in attendance.
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In addition, HTA, Maui Visitors and Convention Bureau, and the Island of Hawaii Visitors Bureau organized Hawaiian cultural training sessions for the Global Marketing Team, as well as meetings with industry and community stakeholders on Oahu, Maui and the island of Hawaii to discuss tourism marketing efforts.
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Hawaii Convention Center Customer Advisory Board Visits Hawaii
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The Hawaii Convention Center (HCC) welcomed its new Customer Advisory Board to Hawaii, from March 7 to 9.
At the three-day meeting, Customer Advisory Board members shared their experiences and perspectives to help HCC better serve the needs of key citywide meeting and convention planners, attendees and stakeholders. The board is a strategic think tank and client forum comprised of senior association executives and meeting professionals.
Pictured from left to right: Board Facilitator David Kliman, HCC General Manager Teri Orton, and Best Western Director of Meetings and Events Todd Thrall.
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HTUSA, Meet Hawaii on the Move
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Hawaii Tourism United States’ (HTUSA) Meet Hawaii team and its partners recently met with meeting planners at trade shows, events and one-on-one sales meetings on the mainland.
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The meetings and promotions included the annual Independent Planner Education Conference (IPEC) tradeshow in Maryland, the Meeting Professionals International Northern California Chapter (MPINCC) Annual Conference and Expo, and a Valentine’s Day Promotion in Wisconsin that shared the team’s love of the Hawaiian Islands. The initiatives have already produced five leads collectively with an additional three leads expected in March.
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Travel + Leisure
Spotlights Hawaii Designer in its
“The New Aloha Style” Feature
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Media coverage and rave reviews for Hawaii designer Manaola Yap’s New York Fashion Week debut last fall extended into the new year on the pages of
Travel + Leisure.
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The magazine’s February 2018 issue “The New Aloha Style” feature showcased Manaola’s fashion and discussed how Hawaii’s unique culture and natural environment inspires his design. Hawaii Tourism United States (HTUSA) supported the promotion and coverage of the designer’s Fashion Week debut.
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Filmed-in-Hawaii Episodes of The Best Thing I Ever Ate Debut
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Continuing its efforts to keep Hawaii’s culinary scene in the national spotlight, HTUSA’s PR team worked with Food Network and Cooking Channel’s
The Best Thing I Ever Ate television series, which filmed in three Hawaii restaurants last year.
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Sansei Seafood Restaurant and Sushi Bar and Rainbow Drive-in on Oahu, and Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop on Maui, appeared in three episodes of the series in January and February.
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HTUSA and Island Chapters Blitz U.S. East
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HTUSA and the Island Chapter travel trade teams hosted the U.S. East Leisure Sales Blitz in Long Branch, New Jersey; Woodbury, New York; Wilmington, Delaware; Columbia, Maryland; and Alexandria, Virginia, from January 29 to February 2. During the weeklong blitz, 297 travel advisors participated in destination and certification training, trade shows and roundtable sessions.
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The blitz included travel agent training workshops, Hawaii Destination Specialist workshops, Island Chapter updates, hula performances and lei-making demonstrations. The supplier trade show and roundtable sessions featured 19 Hawaii suppliers.
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Canadian Destination Wedding Specialists Experience the
Romance of Hawaii
Destination wedding specialists from Western Canada, hosted by Hawaii Tourism Canada, visited Oahu in February in search of unique wedding options for their clients and returned home impressed with the quality and variety of hotel and off-site venues available on the island.
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While on Oahu, the group was also immersed in knowledge of Hawaiian culture and history, visited Iolani Palace and the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, and participated in a traditional ocean hiuwai healing ceremony.
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Hawaii Tourism Japan Certifies New Tropical Coconut-Flavored
Frugura-Brand Fruit Granola from Calbee
On February 6, Hawaii Tourism Japan (HTJ) and Calbee, one of Japan’s largest snack and food manufacturers, held a joint press conference at the company’s headquarters to announce a new HTJ-certified product, tropical coconut-flavored granola brand Frugura. The press conference was attended by 36 journalists and three of the Hawaii Camera Girls – collectively generating 63 articles.
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The HTJ-Calbee collaboration rides the wave of increasing popularity in breakfast items by Japan consumers. Branded with an HTJ certification seal, Frugura will be available for consumer purchase for a limited time this spring and summer in conjunction with a sweepstakes campaign. Samples of the granola will be distributed at HTJ’s satellite offices throughout Japan.
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Backpack Festa by Tabippo, one of the largest Japan travel events for millennials, was held in Tokyo on February 15 and Osaka on February 24. At the Tokyo event, HTJ offered Hawaiian Islands virtual reality (VR) experiences on its original VR goggles to more than 2,500 millennial consumers. HTJ’s new VR video is currently in production and will be promoted through social media channels once completed.
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At the Osaka event, four flights from Scoot were awarded to attendees as door prizes, in support of the low-cost air carrier, which recently launched Hawaii routes. On February 16, HTJ and web media corporation Tabippo launched a passport cash-back campaign targeting new non-passport holders.
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HTJ Hosts Three-City Hawaii Seminar and Workshop in Japan
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HTJ held its Three-City Seminar and Workshop in Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo, between January 31 and February 5, with 33 partner companies and 737 travel agents participating.
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Among HTJ’s largest in-market programs, the series of seminars and workshops gives the HTJ team an opportunity to share current market updates and 2018 initiatives. Participants were also treated to HTJ’s updated
What’s New on Oahu video, which shares current events happening on the island.
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Hawaii Tourism Oceania Participates in Flight Centre Travel Expos
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Hawaii Tourism Oceania (HTO) recently participated in Australia-based travel group Flight Centre’s Travel Expo, a series of consumer shows in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. This year’s expo drew 24,731 attendees in Brisbane, 27,332 in Sydney and 27,571 in Melbourne, breaking previous attendance records for the shows.
At each of the expo events, the team received numerous inquiries about Hawaii from couples, multi-generational families and groups of friends planning travel to the Hawaiian Islands within the next 12 to 18 months. There was also a lot of interest in inter-island travel.
At the Melbourne expo, HTA Brand Manager Chris Sadayasu joined the HTO Team to manage its Hawaii informational booth, helping share points of interest throughout the Islands with the thousands of consumers visiting the booth.
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HTO Attends 2018 Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo (AIME)
in Melbourne
From February 19 to 21, HTO participated in the 2018 Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo (AIME) – the largest Australia-based exhibition of its kind in the meetings, incentives and events industry – annually attended in force by industry suppliers and meetings and events planners.
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HTO and its Hawaii delegation engaged in nearly 100 back-to-back appointments throughout the Melbourne expo, meeting with high-caliber clients visiting the Hawaii booth, including American Express, HelmsBriscoe, IBM, Oracle, CiEvents and more. HTO partner exhibitors included Hilton Hawaiian Village, Oahu Visitors Bureau and Maui Visitors and Convention Bureau.
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New Zealand TV series
Karena and Kasey’s Kitchen Diplomacy
Films in Hawaii
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HTO played a key role in bringing New Zealand-based food celebrities Karena and Kasey Bird to Hawaii to film their popular culinary TV series
Karena and Kasey’s Kitchen Diplomacy. The Hawaii-filmed episode aired in February in a 7:30 p.m. peak viewer timeslot on Television New Zealand’s free-to-air TV1 channel.
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The episode followed the sisters as they explored the food, culture, people and scenery of the Hawaiian Islands. As such, it proved a terrific destination showcase for assisting HTO’s efforts in driving more New Zealand visitors to Hawaii. The episode was seen by more than 250,000 viewers.
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Growth in Air Seats from China to Hawaii
In February, Hawaii Tourism China (HTC) – working with China Eastern Airlines and trade partner CYTS Zhejiang – secured three charter flights with a mission of stimulating travel to Hawaii from China’s Eastern Region. The flights also marked the first-ever direct routes to Honolulu from Hangzhou, the provincial capital of Zhejiang Province.
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Also in February, China Eastern Airlines and Air China added seasonal flights to meet high Hawaii travel demand from Beijing and Shanghai. The total number of incremental air seats received from both air carriers was 4,917.
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Hawaii Tourism China Launches Diamond of Islands Marketing Campaign
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To position Hawaii as the “diamond” of all islands globally, HTC recently launched its Diamond of Islands campaign, comprised of a digital treasure hunt and offline components designed to ignite the aspirations of upscale Chinese couples.
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In February, two winning couples were selected from 10,000 participants to enjoy a romantic trip and diamond-granting ceremony in Hawaii. Public relations and social media coverage resulting from the couples’ Hawaii visits are expected in March.
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Hawaii Tourism Southeast Asia and Air Carrier Scoot Host
Familiarization Tour on Oahu
Hawaii Tourism Southeast Asia (HTSEA) recently partnered with air carrier Scoot on a joint Oahu familiarization trip for six Singapore-based print and digital media professionals writing for travel and lifestyle outlets. The partnership was a follow-up initiative stemming from Scoot’s launch of its first Singapore to Honolulu route in December.
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The group spent five days on Oahu, experiencing the island through multiple food, culture and other activities via an itinerary jointly planned with the Oahu Visitors Bureau. In addition to visiting key attractions and locations – including Pearl Harbor’s historic sites and Iolani Palace – the group explored Pow! Wow! Hawaii mural art in Honolulu’s Kakaako neighborhood and also toured the city’s Chinatown district.
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Media were also treated to a cooking session with a Ko Olina Resort chef and cultural activities, including crafting Niihau shell earing and lauhala bracelets.
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Sharing Hawaii with the Indonesian Market
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HTSEA recently collaborated with the U.S. Embassy’s Cultural Center @america, in Indonesia’s capital city Jakarta, and Livelife, a Southeast Asia online community connecting people through enriching activities, to conduct a destination-sharing session with Jakarta consumers.
The session’s objective was introducing consumers to Hawaii, increasing Hawaii’s brand awareness in the market, and promoting the Hawaiian Islands as an excellent destination for leisure vacations. With Hawaii a relatively new travel destination for the Indonesian market, the two-hour session provided a positive platform for interactions between the 30 consumers in attendance and HTSEA staff.
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Hawaii Tourism Hong Kong and China Eastern Airlines
Unveil Hawaii Travel Website
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In February, Hawaii Tourism Hong Kong partnered with China Eastern Airlines to launch a campaign website promoting the air carrier’s special route between Hong Kong, Shanghai and Honolulu, which featured rates starting at $231.
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The resulting 2018 Travel Guide to Hawaii website spotlights each of the six unique islands and their key attractions, and includes travel and U.S. visa application tips for visitors. The campaign reached 778,309 followers on Chinese Eastern Airlines’ Facebook page.
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Hawaii Seminar Hosted in Conjunction with Brand USA
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On February 7, Hawaii Tourism Korea (HTK) co-hosted the year’s first Hawaii educational seminar with Brand USA , which markets the U.S. as a premier travel destination. The Hawaii seminar, held at the Aloft Myeondong hotel in Seoul, was conducted as part of Brand USA’s USA Specialist Program, which offers travel agents opportunities to learn about U.S. travel destinations.
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More than 60 travel agents, and professionals from destination marketing organizations and air carriers attended the Hawaii seminar, which introduced travel agents to the Islands’ diverse natural attractions and their cultural and historic aspects in several two-hour sessions. The sessions ended with a wrap-up test evaluating the attendees’ newly acquired destination knowledge of the Hawaiian Islands.
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HTK Engages Newscaster Jin-Young Lee
for
Aloha Report
Series
Continuing to diversify the social media content on its communication channels, the HTK team recently began producing
Aloha Report, a biweekly video series featuring a Korean correspondent based in the Hawaiian Islands.
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The promotional videos, which feature KBDF-TV Korean television newscaster Jin-Young Lee, will offer viewers up-to-date Hawaii travel information, and showcase Hawaii travel themes and topics resonating with potential Korean travelers. The videos will be uploaded twice monthly to HTK’s Instagram and Facebook pages.
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Hawaii Showcased at Scandinavia Travel Shows
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The Hawaii Tourism Europe (HTE) team represented Hawaii at three key Scandinavia travel shows in March.
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The HTE team attended the Swansons Long Haul Day Travel Show and FDM Travel Show for consumers, and the Discover America business-to-business trade show, which each saw robust attendance and strong consumer and trade partner interest in Hawaii.
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Hawaii Tourism Europe Hosts "Hawaii on Screen" Press Trip
HTE coordinated a "Hawaii on Screen" group press trip on Oahu and Kauai for four targeted United Kingdom- and Ireland-based travel media professionals, from February 6 to 12. The trip included tours of movie filming locations on both islands and explored Hawaii’s role in numerous Hollywood films. The trip also offered an great opportunity to showcase Hawaii’s history, customs and traditions, as well as its culinary scene.
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Key activities and attractions the group were treated to included Kualoa Ranch’s Premier Movie Site Tour and a visit to Pearl Harbor on Oahu, and Island Helicopters’ Jurassic Falls Experience, Kipu Ranch Adventures’ ATV Tour, and Captain Andy’s Napali Coast Sail on Kauai.
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HTE Introduces Hawaii to Consumers at France’s Mahana Fair
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HTE participated in the annual Mahana Lyon travel and tourism fair in Lyon, France, from March 2 to 4. HTE’s inclusion in the Visit USA booth marked the second time Hawaii has been represented at the fair. The team conducted brief presentations for 50 consumers.
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Keep in touch with HTA via social media:
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HTA recognizes the use of the 'okina ['] or glottal stop, one of the eight consonants of the (modern) Hawaiian language; and the kahakō [ā] or macron (e.g., in place names of Hawai'i such as Lāna'i). However, HTA respects the individual use of these markings for names of organizations and businesses. Due to technological limitations, this current communication may not include all Hawaiian diacritical markings.
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