SAN FRANCISCO — The Bay Area experienced a taste of Kaua‘i’s aloha spirit on Friday when hundreds of people gathered downtown to enjoy the island’s essence. Coordinated by the Hawai‘i Visitor’s and Convention Bureau in hopes of inspiring visitors to
SAN FRANCISCO — The Bay Area experienced a taste of Kaua‘i’s aloha spirit on Friday when hundreds of people gathered downtown to enjoy the island’s essence.
Coordinated by the Hawai‘i Visitor’s and Convention Bureau in hopes of inspiring visitors to grace the islands with their presence again, “Hawai‘i: A Thousand Reasons to Smile” is a campaign running through the month of March, paying week-long tributes to each of the four Main Hawaiian Islands.
Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the making of South Pacific, last week was entirely dedicated to promoting Kaua‘i.
On “Lucky Friday the 13th,” people experienced the culture with live, local entertainment, Kaua‘i Made products and huge giveaways, including free round-trip tickets and accommodations to the island.
Sue Kanoho, executive director of the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau, thought the event turned out to be a perfect lunchtime escape as the crowd at One Market Plaza reportedly reached new heights that day.
“We had people stopping, asking to buy Kaua‘i products and waiting to see who won the five Hawaiian Airlines trips for two to Kaua‘i,” she said. “There were probably 300 people in the area watching the hula of Noelani Kaui and listening to Nick Castillo’s singing — it was amazing.”
Miss Garden Isle agreed.
“The crowd was enormous and the people who worked there said they’ve never seen a crowd like that before,” she said. “They felt the aloha spirit and it was something new for their day — something sweet as they passed by for lunch.”
With visitor rates already declining by over 20 percent, Kanoho is keeping busy promoting the Garden Isle and has high hopes for the island’s tourism industry.
“We are hopeful that our presence this week reminded the Bay area residents about the beauty and allure of Kaua‘i as a great vacation destination,” she said.
According to HVCB, the San Francisco Bay Area is Hawai‘i’s second largest market for visitors.
“San Francisco is a market of travelers,” said Emele Freiberg, account supervisor at McNeil Wilson Communications and spokesperson for Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau, on Friday.
“All went really, really well; it was a smash,” she added, when asked how Friday’s afternoon event turned out.
Advertisements and banners for the March promotion have been stretching across the city and were seen in various media outlets, including the National Geographic website and local Bays Area TV shows.
The event kicked off Feb. 26 at The Fairmont San Francisco with Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann and entertainment provided by Willie K and the Polynesian Cultural Center.
Kanoho said she believes bookings to Hawai‘i have already starting to increase based on a meeting between HVCB and the Island Chapters on Thursday.
“We heard from them that they are starting to see bookings to Hawai‘i increase and I think that some of the special offers are starting to get people to travel again,” she said. “Our month-long presence in San Francisco was seen as a great opportunity to get people that can travel to choose Hawai‘i.”
John Monahan, HVCB’s president and CEO, said in a press release that the goal of the campaign was to encourage consumers “longing for the restorative benefits of a Hawai‘i vacation — especially during these stressful times — and showing them how affordable it is to visit the islands.
“Getting people to smile is a perfect antidote to the nation’s dreary economic news,” said Monahan, in regards to the “Thousand Reasons to Smile” theme. “And nothing defines being happy, carefree and lighthearted as much as a Hawai‘i vacation. We’re going to uplift spirits, recharge batteries and bring smiles back in a thousand ways starting with the great travel deals now being offered.”
Kanoho agrees that the time is right for travelers to pack their bags, as the deals have hardly been better.
“I strongly believe that the great offers that are out there now are getting people to reconsider their travel plans and plan a trip to Hawai‘i, but we need to continue to be in their markets with our messaging to get them to come,” she said.
The first week in March served to promote the island of O‘ahu and the next two weeks will include promotions for Maui and the Big Island.
• Coco Zickos, business writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or czickos@kauaipubco.com
