Video Message From
HTA President and CEO John De Fries
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Mōhala i ka wai ka maka o ka pua
Unfolded by the water are the faces of the flowers
ʻŌlelo Noʻeau #2178
Like pua (flowers), people thrive where living conditions are good. It has become more apparent that people also thrive when coming together around a purpose – that which holds waiwai (value) beyond oneself.
Natural Resources is one of the four pillars in HTA’s Strategic Plan. The work that we continue to do in our capacity in leading tourism and the support we provide alongside the leaders in our community is an effort to give life back to the sources that give life to all of us.
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Supporting Bishop Museum’s Work to Digitize Native Hawaiian Language Newspapers
Our friends at the Bishop Museum continue to holomua (progress) with digitizing nūpepa Hawaiʻi kahiko (historical Hawaiian newspapers), and recently welcomed Congressman Ed Case to visit them at work. Congressman Case shared his understanding of the many possibilities unlocked by digitizing old newspapers.
One recent treasure the team uncovered was in an edition of the newspaper Ka Elele Poakolu. In it the team found an acrostic mele by what appears to be Kalākaua (under the pen name T. Affy) informing their readership of the work it takes to put out a newspaper.
Another issue of the many being digitized: Ke Au Hou, which as its name suggests is focused on a new era. Featured on its front page is Bishop Museum itself, which is, as stated in the article, “one of the first stone buildings of this era.” Innovation comes full circle with this project, as we support the perpetuation of traditional knowledge through new technology.
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HTA Talks Story about its Kuleana on KHON2’s "Aloha Authentic"
Chief Brand Officer Kalani Kaʻanāʻanā appeared on KHON2’s “Aloha Authentic” with host Kamaka Pili to discuss the future of tourism and our overall kuleana (responsibility) in it to our home and community.
For Kalani, his kuleana began at home in Kailua and “growing up in a town that’s heavily impacted by tourism even till this day.” He wanted to be a part of the solution and said: “I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to quite literally now lead our efforts in making the changes that I wanted to see.”
Click the following link to watch the full interview.
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Protecting Oʻahu’s Precious Water Resources
Clean water is one of our most precious gifts, and core to our identity as Hawaiʻi - land of the life-giving water.
HTA is closely tracking the evolving situation on Oʻahu at Kapūkakī (the ancestral name of Red Hill), is receiving regular updates from state and city officials, and will keep the lines of communication open with the visitor industry and those leading the response.
The Hawaiian cultural value of mālama compels us to do all we can to protect our waters for our health and safety, and for that of future generations.
While there is no immediate threat to the municipal water system, the Honolulu Board of Water Supply is encouraging mindful usage of water. We join them in that call, encouraging the visitor industry to voluntarily take measures to conserve water. We also call upon our visitors to make choices to reduce their water usage.
E mālama i ka wai.
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IMEX America 2021
Hawaiʻi’s Meetings, Conventions, and Incentives (MCI) industry and Meet Hawaiʻi celebrated the return of IMEX America 2021, the largest domestic trade show for the MCI market. Held November 9-11 in Las Vegas, Nevada, the show attracted more than 4,200 buyers from 155 countries representing all MCI market segments.
Over the three-day event, Meet Hawai‘i’s large island booth bustled with activity as 32 partners and 10 Meet Hawai‘i sellers promoted all the islands as preferred MCI destinations during 687 face-to-face appointments. Many of the buyers were interested in booking specific programs instead of simply requesting general information on Hawai‘i. This resulted in 100 Meet Hawai‘i sales leads.
To share a taste of the islands with buyers and showcase locally made products, Meet Hawai‘i provided Hawaiian Pie Company’s Kahlua cupcakes and various mini pies in flavors such as strawberry guava. On the second day, Marriott Hawai‘i hosted a very successful pau hana reception in the booth including the presentation of fresh lei.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, IMEX America 2021 was a fully vaccinated show with entry based on both buyers and suppliers showing proof of full vaccination.
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Fall Virtual Media Blitz
Hawai‘i Tourism United States (HTUSA) Public Relations conducted a Virtual Media Blitz in November and secured one-on-one appointments with 20 top-tier media. Discussion topics included mindful travel including Mālama Hawaiʻi as well as HTA’s Destination Management Action Plans (DMAP). In alignment with the mālama theme, HTUSA sponsored the planting of ʻulu trees on behalf of media as a mahalo for their participation in the virtual blitz.
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American Travel Outlook Positive
The outlook for U.S. travel in 2022 is shaping up in a promising way with more trips overall and to a more diverse set of destinations. The near-term outlook is also positive, although current COVID-19 and financial concerns will need to be monitored. When asked to list the domestic destinations they most want to visit in 2022, Florida, New York, Las Vegas, California, Hawai‘i and Texas were top among American travelers. Domestic destinations will face more competition again as 23.6 percent of American travelers say they will increase their international travel in 2022.
Source: Destination Analysts Wave 79, November 24-26, 2021
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JATA Online Travel Mart (Travel Trade)
Hawai‘i Tourism Japan (HTJ) participated in Japan Association of Travel Agents’ (JATA) 2nd Annual Online Travel Mart (JOTM). On November 9, HTJ conducted a webinar and shared updates on Hawaiʻi, its regenerative tourism initiatives, and the tourism recovery plan. HTJ reached nearly 900 travel professionals through the webinar.
In addition, HTJ attended B2B sessions and conducted appointments with more than 30 agencies who were matched with 30 Hawai‘i stakeholders. HTJ coordinated participation by stakeholders including representatives from various hotels, attractions and shopping centers.
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Made in Hawaiʻi Festival
To promote Hawaiʻi-made products, HTJ worked with the Made in Hawaiʻi Festival which was held from November 10 to 13 at Ala Moana Center. HTJ distributed a press release about the festival’s Instagram livestream event to more than 700 media in Japan, garnering 60 media exposures and 5.1 million impressions. Nearly 4,500 people were able to view the livestream.
HTJ also filmed the events and interviewed 15 local vendors for a video highlighting the festival and further promoting Hawai‘i-made products. The video is in production and will be released in December.
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Regenerative Tourism Showcases
In November, HTJ conducted various seminars and presentations focused on regenerative tourism by showcasing Mālama Hawaiʻi initiatives. In addition to JATA’s Online Travel Mart, HTJ conducted eight seminars to DMOs, university edu-tourism groups, local businesses and the millennial organization POOLO, educating nearly 600 individuals about Mālama Hawai’i.
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Canadian Travel Measures
As a measure to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant, Canada reintroduced on-arrival testing and quarantine for travelers for all countries except the U.S. on December 8. Fully vaccinated travelers must take a test upon arrival and quarantine at home or at a designated facility until they receive the results.
This measure is on top of the already required negative PCR test taken within the 72 hours before boarding any flight bound to Canada regardless of the origin.
Canada’s omicron watch list, first announced last week, now stands at 10 countries: Arrivals from Egypt, Malawi and Nigeria will now be subject to the same protocols as arrivals from the seven countries announced last week: South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Eswatini.
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Montréal – Honolulu flight launch
On the evening of December 8, HTCAN held an event to announce the launch of Air Canada’s Montréal-Honolulu route starting December 11.
With the support of the airline, HTCAN gathered a select group of tour operators, travel trade and consumer media to join them for a Hawai‘i-inspired holiday event to announce the route.
During the event, HTCAN provided a presentation with a general overview of the Hawaiian Islands and Air Canada shared details of the new route. This flight brings Hawai‘i and Eastern Canada closer by servicing not only the Québec market, but also the Atlantic provinces.
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Hawai‘i takes the lead at Australia Travel Trade Event
Hawai‘i Tourism Oceania joined forces with Hawaiian Airlines and Norwegian Cruise Lines to sponsor Travel Daily’s “Still Standing Celebration” in Sydney on November 30. This publication is the country’s leading travel magazine.
The sellout event saw close to 400 travel industry stakeholders gather for a well-deserved tribute to the travel industry’s survival over the most turbulent period in its history. Travel agents, operator representatives, industry body chiefs and travel executives raised their glasses to the tenacity and spirit of Australian travel.
Guests were greeted by hula dancers and each welcomed with a fresh flower lei. In addition to uplifting speeches, one lucky travel agent walked away with the grand prize of a trip to Hawai‘i courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines, NCL and The Waikiki Beachcomber by Outrigger. HTO contributed a 2-hour Mālama ka ‘Āina Tour at Kualoa Ranch, which is a matching partner of Outrigger’s Mālama Hawai‘i program.
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Top Korean Travel Agents Experience Mālama Hawai‘i
With Korean Air having resumed flights to the Hawaiian Islands in November, Hawai‘i Tourism Korea (HTK) visited Hawai‘i Island and O‘ahu from November 14 to 19 with nine top travel agents and a Korean Air representative, to stimulate travel demand for Hawai‘i. HTK organized FAM itineraries with the Island Chapters and included voluntourism activities. Attendees enjoyed their firsthand experiences participating in Mālama Hawai‘i activities, including reforestation in Waikoloa, planting trees at Gunstock Ranch, and cleaning up Waikīkī beach.
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HTK Participates in Co-op with Hawaiian Airlines for 11th Street Promotion
For the month of December, HTK is carrying out a co-op promotion with Hawaiian Airlines in Korea through 11th Street. 11th Street is the Korean affiliate of Amazon.com and the largest open market online. The promotion site will include videos and information about Mālama Hawai‘i as well as each of the islands easily accessible via Hawaiian Airlines’ inter-island connection. When purchasing a Hawaiian Airlines ticket, a discount coupon of KRW50,000 and a coupon for an 11% discount on hotels in Hawai‘i will be offered.
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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 [ō] 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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