Kauai well promoted in 2015

LIHUE — The Kauai Visitors Bureau was a powerhouse this year, putting Kauai on the silver screen, in a major magazine and on national TV.

“Wow, it was an amazing year,” said Sue Kanoho, Kauai Visitor’s Bureau executive director.

The Na Pali Coast opened Stephen Spielberg’s blockbuster summer hit “Jurassic World,” and once again Kauai became synonymous with a paradise for dinosaur fans.

The island’s beaches also provided a perfect backdrop for 22 pages of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue.

And the popular NBC show “The Biggest Loser” filmed two episodes on Kauai last year, airing in the winter TV schedule.

Kanoho said other highlights of 2015 were the Grand Hyatt’s 25-year celebration and new restaurants and shops at The Shops at Kukui’ula.

Some challenges were the 15 tropical storms and hurricanes this season, with at least five close calls for Kauai, as well as Island Air stopping inter-island service to Kauai.

Visitor numbers were up for the year to date — 4.5 percent over last year.

Total visitor expenditures are up 14.6 percent through November, to $1.4 billion.

That’s the “highest of any Hawaiian island,” Kanoho said.

Upcoming in 2016, Hawaiian Airlines is extending service from Los Angeles to Lihue to three times weekly, starting Friday.

In September, the International Union for Conservation of Nature will be holding its 2016 IUCN World Conservation Congress event in Hawaii, and Kauai’s National Tropical Botanical Gardens will host visitors before and after the event.

Kanoho said she’s also planning two press trips in the spring and one in the fall, promoting different aspects of Kauai.

“The goal will be to hold the line for next year,” Kanoho said in a December interview with TGI. “I think also to work on any of the areas and shortcomings we might have along the way for the island.”