Island attractions north and south got some major-league exposure recently, as Kaua’i was in the spotlight in The New York Times, USA Today and in Pulitzer’s Arizona Daily Star in Tucson. The island was featured in the Times’ travel section
Island attractions north and south got some major-league exposure recently, as Kaua’i was in the spotlight in The New York Times, USA Today and in Pulitzer’s Arizona Daily Star in Tucson.
The island was featured in the Times’ travel section on Friday, March 14, in a regular feature called “36 Hours,” written by Kilauea resident Charlie Roessler. The travel guide page highlighted Kaua’i restaurants, resorts and getaways with a decidedly North Shore focus, and claimed that district is now an “in” spot comparable to what Maui was 20 years ago.
The Hanalei Bay Resort, Princeville Resort, and shops and restaurants from the North Shore to Wailua were featured in the Times piece, which was spread out over two-thirds of a page. Photos of the island include ‘Anini and other locations, with five maps showing directions to the places Roessler mentioned in the article.
Last month, USA Today named Po’ipu Beach one of its top 10 worldwide places for lovers, in a piece titled “Our favorite romantic getaways.”
The USA Today piece, which appeared just before Valentine’s Day, influenced a seven-fold increase in the number of visits to the Po’ipu Beach Resort Association’s Web site, www.poipu-beach.org, said Margy Parker, executive director of the Po’ipu Beach Resort Association.
“It was posted February 10, and the second day that was posted (at www.usatoday.com) our page use on the Web site went from like 1,200 to 8,500, it was really great,” she said.
The combined national and international publicity the two stories bring to the island would cost thousands of dollars if they had to be purchased in the form of paid advertising, and can only be good news for the island, Parker said.
“The New York Times has incredible circulation,” with subscribers and regular readers all across the United States and world, she said.
“It builds the island as an attractive destination. So, the exposure is phenomenal,” she said. “If you went out and bought that kind of exposure with advertising dollars, it would be tens of thousands of dollars,” said Parker.
The Arizona Daily Star featured focused on hiking and kayaking and was published Sunday, February 16. Writer Thomas Weeded offered a realistic look at outdoor activities including a hike to Kalalau, and offered a warning about high waves washing across Queen’s Bath below Princeville.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
