May 2016 E-Bulletin

Aloha Kakou, This month began with the U.S. Travel Association celebrating National Travel and Tourism Week, May 1-7.   Congress endorsed this annual salute to tourism in 1983 as a reminder of the industry’s economic and social benefits to communities nationwide.   Hawaii sees the benefits of our state’s largest industry every day in the approximately 180,000 jobs that support families and communities on all islands.   Hawaii’s tourism industry came through the first quarter, traditionally an off-peak period, in good shape and the year-to-date visitor statistics show we are slightly ahead of last year’s record-setting pace for arrivals and expenditures.

Message from George D. Szigeti President & CEO Hawaii Tourism Authority

Those results are especially heartening considering the economic struggles of some key international markets, and the negative publicity generated by the dengue fever outbreak on Hawaii Island.   Nevertheless, visitors continue to crave the authenticity of the Hawaii experience, and embrace how the Aloha Spirit guides the way we live and the goodwill we show everyone coming to our islands.   Mahalo for supporting Hawaii’s tourism industry. With Warmest Aloha,

SAVE THE DATE - Hawaii Tourism Conference Mark your calendar for the week of September 26-30 to attend the 2016 Hawaii Tourism Conference at the Hawaii Convention Center. This is the premier educational and networking event for tourism stakeholders and professionals to focus, learn, and collaborate on efforts to sustain Hawaii's tourism economy.

"Tourism is a Family Business"

HTA debuted a new video series entitled “Tourism is a Family Business” at the 2016 Spring Marketing Update. The videos feature local business owners sharing how tourism positively impacts their business. The first two spots feature Chef Mark "Gooch" Noguchi of Mission Social Hall and Café on Oahu and Cafe and Renee Kimura of Kimura Lauhala Shop on the Big Island.

Click here to view the Chef Mark "Gooch" Noguchi video

The idea for this video series came about as HTA’s new leadership team began meeting with many leaders in the travel industry and government, as well as local residents last year.   During these interactions, especially with local business owners, many of which had been family owned and operated for generations, it became evident how many extended family members were interconnected through tourism, both directly and indirectly. Many credited tourism for playing a significant role in the success of their business. And thus, the idea to share these types of stories through this campaign was born. With the completion of the first two videos, HTA is planning to create additional videos featuring family run businesses on Kauai and Maui.

Click here to view the Renee Kimura video

HTA Marketing Team Updates the Industry More than 300 tourism industry professionals attended HTA’s Spring Marketing Update on April 6 at the Hawaii Convention Center for a progress report on Hawaii's marketing efforts.    HTA’s global marketing team from North America, Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Europe, Oceania, and Meet Hawaii provided attendees with market insights and an update of their 2016 activities and projects.  Click here to view the presentations and opportunities to partner.

HTA Marketing Team FAMs Maui, Hawaii Island

In conjunction with the Spring Marketing Update, HTA‘s Global Marketing Team took part in Maemae cultural training sessions, as well as stakeholder meetings and FAMs of Maui and Hawaii Island, March 31-April 10. It was very worthwhile and informative as the Maui Visitors and Convention Bureau and Big Island Visitors Bureau organized roundtable industry meetings with select stakeholders to discuss marketing efforts and tourism development.  They also coordinated on-island FAMs to share with the HTA team some of the latest product offerings on Maui, Lanai and Hawaii Island.

Malolo Canoe Restoration and Launch HTA believes in the responsibility of perpetuating Hawaii's culture and seeing it celebrated within our communities statewide.  To that end, HTA is proud to have sponsored the restoration and re-launch of Malolo, the historic koa canoe of Milolii on Hawaii Island. Built in the 1920s, Malolo was used to win the 1954 Molokai Channel race in record time and was once paddled by Duke Kahanamoku. The restored canoe will be used next year by the Milolii Canoe Club during canoe racing season.  George Szigeti was honored to represent HTA at the re-launch of the treasured canoe on April 23. Mahalo to State Senator Kai Kahele for inviting HTA to join in this special community celebration of the rebirth of Malolo.

Festivals of Hawaii Promotion at Honolulu International Airport HTA supports more than 100 community festivals and events statewide annually for the enjoyment of residents and visitors alike. To help promote these showcases of community pride, HTA is sponsoring displays at the Honolulu International Airport to highlight the festivals and events taking place each quarter statewide. The displays drive people to download the “Festivals of Hawaii” app, which allows the user to view the dates and locations for each event.

MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

Mele Mei 2016 Kicks Off Statewide The 6th Annual Mele Mei, a celebration of Hawaii’s music, hula and culture, kicked off last month and runs through June at hotels and venues statewide.  From ukulele to rock and roll, Mele Mei has music to entertain everyone. This year's celebration will also feature The GRAMMY Museum’s Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar exhibit, which will be showcased at the Hawaii Convention Center, just in time for the Na Hoku Hanohano Awards on May 28.   For more information and a calendar of events, click here.

LPGA LOTTE Championship Returns to Ko Olina

HTA was a proud sponsor of the 2016 LPGA LOTTE Championship held last month at the Ko Olina Golf Club the week of April 11-16.  The LPGA’s top golfers from around the world came to Oahu to play in this prestigious tournament. HTA was grateful to have several golfers film promotional videos to help promote Hawaii as a world-class destination to key markets in Asia.

Australia Campaign for Hawaii Travel

Hawaii Tourism Oceania - Australia launched its first consumer brand campaign in February.  The campaign included a contest for a dream Hawaii vacation for four people to two Hawaiian Islands, as well as Flight Centre holiday packages. The contest was hosted on a microsite that was promoted through social media, display advertising and video pre-rolls. Microsite engagement highlights from February 13 to April 1:  188,283 unique views 51,933 competition entries 7 minutes average time spent on website 551,660 total clicks to view activity information on each island The video component of the campaign received 434,645 total views with an overall video completion rate of nearly 75%.  The campaign also resulted in strong social media audience growth, with HTO’s Facebook fans increasing 10% and Instagram increasing 39%.

May Day is Lei Day in Sydney HTO celebrated Lei Day by sharing the Aloha spirit in Martin Place in Sydney. Orchid lei were handed out to people passing by, while live music and beautiful hula entertained the crowd. Click here for the video.

Aloha Down Under Draws 28 Partners A record number of 28 industry partners are taking part in Aloha Down Under 2016, HTO’s annual trade show in Australia, May 2-10. HTO issued invitations at the end of March and the number of responses in the first week alone exceeded the goals set for the workshops.

Oceania Travel Trends

Visitors from Oceania continue to travel overseas in record numbers with the exchange rate having no marked impact on travel. Many travelers are, however, tightening their purse strings, choosing 4-star over 5-star accommodations or 3-star over 4-star accommodations. Other trends indicate Oceania travelers have an increasing tendency to take more frequent, but shorter trips.

Korean Air and Jin Air Partner on Codesharing to HNL  Korean Air has expanded its partnership with budget carrier Jin Air to include Honolulu on its codesharing routes. The agreement is a benefit for customers and will make it more convenient to book flights to Hawaii. Customers can book travel on Korean Air or Jin Air through either airline’s website giving them easier access to look at more routes when making travel plans.

Summit Showcases Hawaii to Japan Travel Agents 115 travel agents from Japan participated in HTA’s first-ever Hawaii Summit, held the week of April 11-15. Organized by Hawaii Tourism Japan, the summit featured two days of panel discussions, seminars and business meetings with Hawaii travel partners at the Hawaii Convention Center, followed by three days of FAMs on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and Hawaii Island. The Japan travel partners left with a far greater appreciation on the value of booking clients on trips to the Hawaiian Islands.

China Social Influencers FAM Hawaii Six of China’s top travel and lifestyle social media influencers came to Hawaii to share the experience with their followers the week of March 22-27. Organized by Hawaii Tourism China, the group toured Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Hawaii Island. Together, these six celebrity bloggers have a total combined audience of more than three million weibo followers.

Play Fun Travel Visits Hawaii EBC’s Play Fun Travel , a popular TV show in Taiwan, recently completed filming on Oahu and Hawaii Island. The program will air in Taiwan in mid-May with two one-hour episodes reaching 75,000 unique viewers per episode with a total media value of $850,000.

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