Message from George D. Szigeti
President & CEO
Hawaii Tourism Authority
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Aloha kakou,
In three weeks, the Global Tourism Summit will commence at the Hawaii Convention Center.
The three-day summit, set for September 19-21, will feature sessions, presentations and events that will help guide all of us in determining the direction that tourism should take in the years ahead.
Sustainable tourism is the summit theme and the timing is appropriate as we balance our community needs with the realization that a sixth straight year of record growth is increasingly inevitable.
We have a roster of outstanding keynote speakers lined up to share a broader perspective about the world we live in. Billy Beane, the inspiration for the book and film
Moneyball,
ESPN
SportsCenter
anchor Neil Everett and culinary personality Ted Allen of the Food Network will inform, entertain and show us how Hawaii can benefit from their experience.
A speaker I am especially excited to hear at the summit is Olof Yrr Atladottir, director general of the Icelandic Tourist Board. Ms. Atladottir will speak on the topic of
Responsible Tourism
, on September 21 at 9:30 a.m.
Her presentation will be of particular interest locally, as it relates to our tourism industry. Similar to Hawaii, Iceland has realized unprecedented tourism growth over the past six years. The economic infusion to the island nation has been welcomed, but Iceland is also having to cope with new challenges and impacts to its residents’ way of life.
It will be a fascinating and rewarding three days at the Global Tourism Summit. I encourage everyone with a stake in tourism’s future to join us and be a part of this important discussion. Please register online at
www.GlobalTourismSummitHawaii.com
.
With Warmest Aloha,
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Share Your Views About Hawaii’s Future at the Global Tourism Summit
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Sustainable tourism and its significance to Hawaii’s future is the theme of the Global Tourism Summit and the reason for industry stakeholders to gather and share their views.
Presented by the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) at the Hawaii Convention Center, from September 19-21, the Global Tourism Summit offers the best opportunity for everyone to have their voice heard about tourism’s future as we collectively look forward to 2018 and beyond.
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Along with a superb lineup of keynote speakers, a rich diversity of sessions are being held to address a wide range of topics – including Hawaiian culture, ecotourism, global marketing, technology and innovation – and how Hawaii can become an even better place for residents and travelers.
- Individuals: Full Summit, September 19-21: $395
- Groups of Eight or More: Full Summit, September 19-21: $365 per person (Groups can mix and match different attendees during the summit.)
- Student and Faculty Members: Full Summit, September 19-21: $150
- Individuals, Partial Summit, September 19-20: $275
- Individuals, Partial Summit, September 20-21: $265
Join us at the Global Tourism Summit to collaborate and network with industry partners from key markets worldwide. But most of all, join us to be a part of the solution to Hawaii’s future as a tourism industry leader.
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Enjoy These Special Presentations at the Global Tourism Summit!
Join us for the Global Tourism Summit to hear from these keynote speakers and also honor one of the greatest achievements in the modern history of the Hawaiian culture: the Malama Honua Worldwide Voyage of Hokulea.
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Billy Beane, Inspiration for Moneyball
Keynote Speaker, September 19, 9 a.m.
Opening the summit on September 19 is keynote speaker Billy Beane, the inspiration for the bestselling book and Oscar-nominated film,
Moneyball
, starring Brad Pitt.
The statistical methodology that Beane used as general manager of the Oakland Athletics revolutionized major league baseball. He will share how sustainability in business can be achieved through creativity, innovation, technology and breaking free of longstanding norms.
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Honoring Malama Honua and the Crew of Hokulea
Tourism Legacy Awards Luncheon, September 19, noon
A highlight event of the summit’s opening day, the Tourism Legacy Awards Luncheon will honor the Malama Honua Worldwide Voyage and crew of Hokulea for their sharing of Hawaii's sustainability message, and the significance of perpetuating native cultures and protecting natural resources, with audiences worldwide.
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Neil Everett, ESPN
SportsCenter
Anchor
Keynote Speaker, September 20, 8:30 a.m.
Neil Everett, the popular ESPN
SportsCenter
anchor who opens each show with “Howzit!” will present the opening keynote address on the second day of the summit, September 20.
His topic,
Paying Aloha Forward - How Hawaii Saved My Life
, will draw upon the inspiration of Hawaii’s aloha spirit in helping to steer him through a difficult period in his life and how he now shares the power of aloha with others.
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Ted Allen, Bestselling Author and Award-Winning TV Personality
Keynote Speaker, September 20, noon
Ted Allen, the Emmy and two-time James Beard Award winner who hosts the hit primetime Food Network competition series “Chopped” and “Chopped Junior,” will regale the audience with his topic,
Food is EVERYTHING
.
Allen will talk about his career, the importance of cuisine and the value of food in promoting a destination.
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Olof Yrr Atladottir, Director General of the Icelandic Tourist Board and Vice President of the European Travel Commission
Keynote Speaker, September 21, 9:30 a.m.
Olof Yrr Atladottir, director general of the Icelandic Tourist Board and vice president of the European Travel Commission, will present her address on the topic of
Responsible Tourism
.
She will discuss the need to advocate for a holistic approach to tourism, a perspective based on her experience in coping with the unprecedented growth in tourism that Iceland has realized in recent years.
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Special Labor Day Sale on Clippers Hawaii Classic Tickets
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Take advantage of an exclusive Labor Day weekend offer to attend the Clippers Hawaii Classic, presented by Kaiser Permanente. Two NBA preseason games, between the L.A. Clippers and Toronto Raptors, will be held on October 1 and 3 at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.
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Use code “LABORDAY” to unlock discounted ticket prices. Tickets are on sale at
etickethawaii.com
.
Hurrry! The offer will expire at 11:59 p.m. HST on Monday, September 4.
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Sharing Community Voices With We Share Hawaii
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We Share Hawaii, a community-driven platform designed to support Hawaii's unique food culture, hosted Facebook Live shows with Chef Roy Yamaguchi at his Eating House 1849 restaurant, and Banan health food truck co-founders Zak Barry and Matt Hong. Chef Yamaguchi will be one of the featured chefs serving up delicious dishes at the HTA Global Tourism Summit’s Aloha Reception on September 20.
Check out archived video of the Facebook Live shows at
We Share Hawaii
on Facebook.
Then pull up a seat and join in the community conversation by following
@WeShareHawaii
on Facebook, or downloading the
mobile app
on iTunes.
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Hawaiian Stories: Aloha Festivals
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The mission of Aloha Festivals is "to foster the Aloha Spirit through the perpetuation of the Hawaiian culture and the celebration of the diverse customs and traditions of Hawaii."
Aloha Festivals is supported by the Hawaii Tourism Authority, corporate sponsorships, private donations and the sale of Aloha Festivals merchandise.
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To kick off this year’s festivities, on Saturday, September 9, the Aloha Festivals Royal Court will be introduced on the grounds of Helumoa, which was originally the home of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop. During the ceremony, the king, queen, prince and princess take their places on the royal court. The alii court members receive their royal cloaks, helmets, head feather lei and other symbols of their reign. And traditional hula and chants make this a special event in the heart of Waikiki.
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Pearlridge Center will celebrate Aloha Festivals with a full day of free activities, demonstrations, arts and crafts, and stage performances on Saturday, September 16.
The Aloha Festivals’ annual Waikiki Hoolaulea, Hawaii's largest block party, takes place Saturday, September 23. Thousands of people will take to the sidewalks along Kalakaua Avenue for food, fun and entertainment. There will be performances by Hawaiian musicians and
halau hula
(hula schools). Hawaiian crafts, flower lei and multiple varieties of island cuisine will be featured throughout the event.
On Saturday, September 30, Kalakaua Avenue will come alive with the colorful Aloha Festivals Floral Parade, which will include a procession of female and male
pau
horseback riders, floats adorned with fragrant flowers, Hawaiian music, halau hula and local marching bands.
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Hawaiian Stories: Next Generation of Traditional Builders
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Of all the architecture in Hawaii, perhaps the most underappreciated is the traditional Hawaiian
hale
: a simple form built upon a stone platform with locally sourced logs and thatching appropriate for the climate. Building a hale fosters community building, too, as it takes many hearts and hands to gather materials and build the structure. A hale provides a space to come together, learn, share and practice culture as the ancestors did. In an effort to bring hale beyond the walls of museums, nearly 200 modern hale have been built across Hawaii.
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Hoomau I Ka Hale Kahiko, an HTA-supported project of Holani Hana, is training the next generation of builders to maintain and construct hale. About 40 students have been working alongside their
kumu
, stewards of other hale and community volunteers since March to restore a massive hale in Hana on Maui. The restoration is expected to be complete later this year. Visit
HolaniHana.org
to learn more.
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HTA-Supported September Events
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OAHU
Sept. 9
Sept. 15 – Oct. 2
Sept. 23
Sept. 30
Every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
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MAUI/MOLOKAI
Sept. 2
Sept. 16
Sept. 22
Sept. 29
Now till Dec. 20
Now till Dec. 31
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ISLAND OF HAWAII
Sept. 14-17
Sept. 15-17
Now till Dec. 31
Year-round
Year-round
Year-round
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KAUAI
Sept. 3
Sept. 17-Oct. 17
Sept. 22-24
Sept. 24-30
Year-round
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Hawaii Tourism United States Shares
Aloha in Wisconsin
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At the Hawaii Celebration in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 20 and 21, Hawaii Tourism United States (HTUSA), the Island Chapters and Hawaii suppliers met with The Mark Travel Corporation (TMTC) management to conduct destination training sessions for 140 call center representatives and marketing employees.
Suppliers participated in a trade show and innovative “Just One Thing” hotel presentations.
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The TMTC campus of 225 employees enjoyed an outdoor hula demonstration, lei-making class, Hawaii-style shave ice and a floral lei greeting.
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Participating Hawaii suppliers included Aqua-Aston Hospitality, Aulani A Disney Resort & Spa, Castle Resorts and Hotels, Courtyard King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel, Fairmont Kea Lani - Maui, Fairmont Orchid – Hawaii, Hawaiian Hotels and Resorts, Hilton Garden Inn Waikiki Beach, Hilton Hotels and Resorts, Hyatt Hotels in Hawaii, Kaanapali Beach Hotel, Marriott Hotels & Resorts Hawaii, Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows, Outrigger Hotels and Resorts, Pacific Beach Hotel/Alohilani, Polynesian Cultural Center and Prince Resorts Hawaii.
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Hawaii Featured in National Media Outlets
HTUSA’s Taste of Aloha Press Trip, held earlier this year, continues to generate coverage in national publications and social media channels.
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Recent social highlights include Food Network Facebook and Instagram videos featuring Uber Factory’s ube tarts, which have generated more than 1.5 million views.
Food Network also posted a Facebook video highlighting Maui Tropical Plantation, which generated more than 400,000 views.
On the traditional media front,
Extra Crispy
, a millennial-focused website based in New York, published a story on Hawaiian chili pepper water featuring Red Barn Farmstand and Helena’s Hawaiian Food on Oahu.
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HTUSA Partners with Travel and Outdoor Photographer Jonathan Irish
As a result of building strong relationships with media, HTUSA’s PR team connected with freelance travel photographer Jonathan Irish to secure content and editorial coverage highlighting Hawaii’s national parks.
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Coverage highlights include a
Huffington Post
story featuring Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, an “Epic Summer Road Trip" story in
RedBulletin
, and multiple stories on
The Greatest Road Trip,
including “Road Trip from Kona to Hilo” and “9 Not-to-Miss Sites in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park”.
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Additionally,
National Geographic Travel
featured three photos of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and one of Haleakala National Park on its Instagram account, resulting in a combined 1.1 million likes and more than 18.8 million impressions.
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Flight Centre Global Gathering in Australia
In July, Hawaii hosted the Flight Centre Global Gathering, which brought in more than 3,000 members of the Flight Centre Travel Group’s top-selling staff from around the world.
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Hawaii Tourism Oceania (HTO) and HTA took part in a number of key events, including an executive dinner attended by Flight Center Travel Group’s top executives and board, a sponsors’ event, a welcome event, a global conference and a gala awards night. Feedback from attendees was positive, noting that Hawaii provided an excellent venue for the event, that they were leaving with more knowledge about the destination, and were inspired to promote the Hawaiian Islands upon returning to their home countries.
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HTO also took 58 travel agents from Australia and New Zealand to Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the island of Hawaii to participate in post-Global Gathering familiarization trips. HTO worked with the Island Chapters to create amazing itineraries that promoted the diversity of the Hawaiian Islands. The feedback from the travel agents – many of them first-time Hawaii visitors – was very enthusiastic.
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Hawaii Filmed for Entertainment Tonight Canada
The host of Canada’s
Entertainment Tonight
and a production crew recently began filming segments throughout Hawaii for a week’s worth of broadcast content for the show.
Segments filmed in Hawaii will be broadcast across Canada on
Entertainment Tonight
the week of September 18. Pictured above is the film crew at Iolani Palace on Oahu.
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Chinese Influencers Wowed by the Hawaiian Islands
The recent social media influencer familiarization trip jointly organized by Hawaii Tourism China (HTC) and Hawaiian Airlines resulted in 140 Weibo postings shared with 2.8 million followers having a combined reach of 60.5 million views.
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HTC Participates in First-Ever Shanghai Ukulele Contest
In June, HTC partnered with David Ukulele, a top ukulele instructor in China, to sponsor prizes for the winning team of the first Shanghai Ukulele Contest.
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Utilizing the event as a platform, HTC actively promoted the Hawaiian Islands and engaged with more than 300 attendees through travel brochure distribution, conversations and OR code scanning.
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Hawaii Tourism Japan Hosts Hawaii EXPO in Tokyo
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Hawaii Tourism Japan (HTJ) hosted its third annual Hawaii EXPO at Shibuya Hikarie in July, welcoming 17,400 consumers. The expo featured 55 participating vendors, including airlines, hotels, travel agencies, wedding businesses, attractions, retail partners and food operators who brought the Hawaiian Islands to Tokyo.
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Aloha Program members at the expo were also offered exclusive cultural workshops on ribbon, lei and fabric wreath making, ukulele and Hawaiian quilting.
A total of 424 people, including 78 Hawaii specialists, participated in the workshops, using the opportunity to learn more about and experience Hawaiian cultural activities.
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Loco Moco Allstars Campaign Launches in Japan
On July 4, HTJ officially launched its
Loco Moco Allstars Campaign
, a joint campaign with three leading companies in Japan: McDonald's, Lawson and Gusto.
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Each company agreed to offer loco moco-inspired menu items to their customers on
July 11, which was designated Loco Moco Day for the occasion.
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McDonald’s restaurants also featured island-inspired decorations, while Gusto created special television commercial spots featuring a Hawaii Fair event.
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HTJ Promotes Neighbor Island Travel
With the reintroduction of direct airlift from Japan to Kona, HTJ has been aggressively promoting travel to the neighbor islands in recent months.
Its promotional activities included the launch of a new island of Hawaii promotional video and virtual reality movies, collaboration with Hawaii-based media companies, and the creation of travel planners for the island of Hawaii and Maui.
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Familiarization trips with planning staff members representing the 11 major Japanese wholesalers were conducted on Maui and the island of Hawaii from June 28 to July 2. During the FAMs, HTJ initiated B2B sessions with 12 local tour companies on the island of Hawaii to discuss future products for the Japan market.
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Aloha-Themed Buffet Launched at the Pacific Club in Hong Kong
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In July, Hawaii Tourism Hong Kong and the Pacific Club launched an aloha-themed buffet in Hong Kong serving more than 280 members.
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Pacific Club is Hong Kong’s most exclusive membership club with more than 2,500 members in top management positions in various enterprises in the region. An island-inspired recipe from Hawaii chef Alan Wong was featured in the club's magazine, which is distributed to all members.
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2017 Meet Hawaii VIP Weekend in Korea
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In July, Hawaii Tourism Korea (HTK) participated in the 2017 Meet Hawaii MCI VIP Weekend, which was held at the Conrad Seoul hotel. The weekend was attended by 60 key corporate clients and their family members, as well as airline partners, hotel partners and travel agency SM Town Travel.
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HTK, the event’s official sponsor, organized a "Hawaii Cultural Event - Hula and Ukulele Class," as well as a movie showcase, to share the Aloha Spirit with attendees. The presentation positioned Hawaii as one of the most sought after MCI destinations in the world by showcasing multiple MCI venues and group travel options.
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Hawaii Tourism Southeast Asia Promotes Hawaii in Kuala Lumpur
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Hawaii Tourism Southeast Asia (HTSEA) partnered with the Malaysian Institute for Debate and Public Speaking to select a student debate team to represent HTSEA at the upcoming Global Tourism Summit in September.
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The selection was conducted through the recent Malaysia World School Debate Championship, which was held in July.
That event saw a total registration of 24 teams – featuring three to four speakers per team – all arriving from different states throughout Malaysia to compete for the championship.
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Hawaii Tourism Taiwan and China Airlines Kick Off Hawaii Run
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At a press conference in July, Hawaii Tourism Taiwan (HTT) announced the launch of Hawaii Run, a partnership with China Airlines. A registration website for the Hawaii Run set up by HTT went live the same day.
The press conference was held with China Airlines to coincide with the airline’s release of its new Airbus A350 aircraft for Hawaii service in October. More than 60 partners, sponsors and journalists attended.
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Taiwanese celebrity Candy Wang, the event’s ambassador, posted and shared information regarding the Hawaii Run on her official Facebook page to attract attention from her fans and media.
Acknowledging Taiwanese consumers’ heavy use of social media, HTT believes it is important for it to utilize similar online resources to reach out to more targeted audiences and attract more participants.
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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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