Hawai‘i Tourism USA (HTUSA) was a co-sponsor of the Hawai‘i Loves Travel Advisors virtual expo, hosted by Travel Weekly on February 16, which drew 1,422 unique visitors. As part of its sponsorship, HTUSA presented a webinar educating 720 travel advisors and also including a review of Hawai‘i’s travel protocols, island overviews and four Mālama Hawai‘i ambassador videos highlighting how advisor clients could enjoy a more meaningful travel experience when they mālama our islands. HTUSA’s virtual booth attracted 620 unique visitors accessing more than 2,000 resources, including links to the mālama page on gohawaii.com.

With February being the 10-year anniversary of Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Tourism Japan (HTJ) utilized multiple online platforms to share the importance of Hawaiian-language messaging to the Japan market. ʻŌlelo noʻeau (Hawaiian proverbs) were introduced daily on popular Japan social media platforms and followed by a quiz. The campaign’s 56 posts earned 1.1 million impressions, with an average reach per post of 550,000 users.

A media release celebrating the 10th anniversary earned nearly 41 million impressions. A special web seminar conducted every Saturday in February drew 2,793 participants, all of whom stated their wish to continue learning ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi and more about Hawaiian culture through the language.

HTJ is preparing for the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) Hawaiʻi delegation and Trade Media Press Tour, set for April 3-8 in Hawai‘i. Eighteen executives from major travel companies will be joining a discussion with Hawai‘i’s officials about the roadmap for resuming travel between Hawaiʻi and Japan, strengthening the Hawai‘i-Japan relationship, and practicing regenerative tourism.

During their stay, our trade media partners — Wing Travel, Travel Watch, Travel Voice and Travel Vision — will be engaging in activities to give back to the land and community while engaging in Hawaiʻi’s culture and values. These volunteer experiences and site visits are a part of Mālama Hawai‘i, the overall theme of this year’s event and future travel.

On March 1, the Japanese government relaxed border measures, raising the maximum number of new entrants to the country per day from 3,500 to 5,000 and then to 7,000 on March 14. Conditions for foreign nationals from countries other than designated countries/regions have also been mitigated..

With Hawaiʻi lifted from Japan’s list of designated countries/regions, a requirement to quarantine at designated facilities no longer exists, though conditions differ depending on status of booster vaccinations. If not vaccinated, travelers should have a negative test result taken within 72 hours prior to leaving Hawaiʻi and a negative test result at the time of arrival in Japan to bypass quarantine.

With motivation to travel to and from Japan seemingly increasing, HTJ will continue to update its COVID-19 information site.

Fully vaccinated travelers are no longer required to provide a negative COVID-19 PCR test result to enter Canada and rapid-antigen test results are now accepted — though not those from self-administered, at-home tests. In addition, unvaccinated children under age 12 are no longer required to self-isolate upon arrival in Canada.

Hawai‘i Tourism Canada (HTCAN) is partnering with Baxter Media on a campaign featuring an article on Hawaiʻi each month this year in Travel Courier magazine, including a cover. Themes proposed for each month’s article vary but will be aimed at highlighting Hawaiian culture, the Mālama Hawai‘i program, Hawai‘i festivals and events, and each of the Hawaiian Islands. Baxter Media is one of Canada’s most prominent travel trade media groups.

The populations of both Australia and New Zealand are now 94% fully vaccinated and international travel requirements for Australia are comprised of only a PCR or rapid antigen test before departure and before returning to the country. No further testing or isolation is required. Still, a current surge of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in New Zealand is putting pressure on consumer services.

On February 28, the Hawai‘i Tourism Oceania (HTO) team attended the Personal Travel Managers (PTM) State Meeting Melbourne alongside more than 60 personal travel managers attending in person for the first time in over two years. HTO shared the Mālama Hawaiʻi initiative and an update from each island at the meeting, where agents — boosted by knowledge and awareness from the meeting — next connected with clients and confirmed Hawai‘i bookings. HTO partnered with PTM to present in Australia’s three major cities: Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney.

Also held in February, the International Media Marketplace brought 320 media and industry PR professionals together in Sydney, offering an ideal opportunity to meet with journalists and editors as well as share all things Hawai‘i. Public Relations Executive Anna Riedel and Trade and Partnerships Manager Kris Phadungkiatipong met with 22 journalists and media professionals at the event who were extremely interested in producing stories about responsible travel.

Take a look at these fun photos from Mardi Gras Fair Day and the photo booth HTO put together with Prince Waikiki and Sheraton Waikiki. The booth was created for a contest designed to raise LGBTQIA+ community excitement about visiting the Hawaiian Islands. The event was held in Sydney on February 20.

Earlier this year, Hawaiʻi Tourism China (HTC) invited industry partners — including air carriers, online travel agencies and Brand USA representatives totaling 15 VIP key stakeholder guests — to attend and support “The Story of Pele” show organized by Hawai‘i Culture and Art Center in Shanghai. HTC presented the show’s introduction and showcased HTA’s Mālama Hawaiʻi videos to more than 200 guests in attendance. HTC continues to share Mālama Hawaiʻi videos via its social media platforms on WeChat, Weibo, Little Red Book and Douyin, along with exciting events and opportunities such as the Lunar New Year and Community Enrichment programs. HTC’s posts earned approximately 1.6 million impressions and more than 114,000 interactions.

Looking ahead, Hawaiʻi Tourism China is developing a WeChat mini-program for the Hawaiian Islands containing content from gohawaii.com and meethawaii.com translated for and tailored to Chinese consumers. WeChat boasts more than 1.26 billion monthly active users — 20 million of them in the United States.

Earlier this year, Hawaiʻi Tourism Korea (HTK) launched a social campaign showcasing Mālama Hawai‘i activities on O‘ahu, Maui, Kaua‘i and Hawai‘i Island and ultimately recorded nearly 22,000 organic impressions. The team’s new campaign, #OnoHawaii, promotes Made in Hawai‘i products to Korean millennial and Z generations through a culinary experience featuring Kona-coffee chocolate products, acai bowls, Kua‘Aina Sandwich items and barbecue corn.

HTK is also preparing a CEO familiarization (FAM) tour for top travel agencies and a group influencer FAM tour coinciding with the resumption of Asiana Airline flights to Hawaiʻi in April. A total of 10 travel agents and an Asiana Airline general manager will visit O‘ahu to experience Mālama Hawai‘i first-hand. Six influencers will visit O‘ahu and Maui to drive social buzz inspiring Korean travelers to keep Hawai‘i their No. 1 go-to travel destination after the pandemic and emphasize the state’s cleanliness, safety, natural resources and sustainable-tourism efforts.