Hawai‘i – and Kaua‘i – continue to get more competition from travel hotspots like Southeast Asia and Las Vegas, so creativity and change is the name of the game. That’s the message from the travel professionals during Wednesday’s “rollout” of
Hawai‘i – and Kaua‘i – continue to get more competition from travel hotspots like Southeast Asia and Las Vegas, so creativity and change is the name of the game.
That’s the message from the travel professionals during Wednesday’s “rollout” of the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s 2005 marketing plan at the Kaua‘i Radisson Beach Resort.
The meeting showcased how Hawaii will be marketed to the world next year, and was a chance for the handful of Kaua‘i attendees to weigh in on how best to spend millions in taxpayer dollars.
“This was the contractors’ chance to highlight the plans they have for next year and to mention any cooperative opportunities,” said Sue Kanoho, executive director of the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau.
The plan’s specifics will soon be available through the HTA’s website, Kanoho said. The new plans detail how Hawaii intends to woo people in the major tourism areas of North America, Japan, Europe, Australia/New Zealand, Asia (Korea, Taiwan and China), corporate travel, and meetings and incentives.
The rollout started on Oahu Tuesday and continued on Maui Thursday and the Big Island on Friday.
At Oahu’s meeting, more than 250 travel professionals turned out at the Hawaii Convention Center to hear people like Harry Kassap, head of market development for the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, talk about how Hawaii was losing out on getting more airlift to the islands because the state wasn’t represented in bilateral talks between airlines and airport authorities.
He also said that Hawaii could not afford to miss out on the process, which equates to millions lost. For example, the state has lost 27 percent of air seats from 2000 to 2004 while Las Vegas gained 10 percent during that period.
Only four people turned out for the HTA rollout here. Is Kaua‘i leaving it up to someone else to handle the big picture? Or perhaps Kaua‘i’s traditional visitor market means that few are interested in Hawaii’s big picture?
“That’s part of it,” Kanoho said. “Most people here are just not interested in the emerging Asian market.
“Since Kaua‘i is a very heavy U.S. West, U.S. East and Canada market, many of these presentations represent a very small percentage of our business,” Kanoho said. “The Japan market is the next biggest and then Europe. We have very little business from Asia and anticipate seeing a small increase in Australia shortly due to the new Hawaiian Airlines flight four times from Sydney to Honolulu.”
About ten percent of Kaua‘i’s annual visitors come from Japan, yet only three percent of KVB’s budget goes to wooing Japanese. Nearly every bit of KVB’s money goes to getting and maintaining visitors from the U.S. Mainland and Canada.
Some 529,404 visitors came to Kaua‘i from the Mainland so far this year, compared to 69,711 total international visitors.
Why? Because the HTA’s Denstu is doing a bang-up job in Japan, particularly with its “6 islands, 6 surprises” campaign featuring ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro spotlighting attractions on all major islands.
“We’re not the only ones marketing in Japan, but we’ve got help through Denstu, which handles Japan for the HTA,” Kanoho said. Kauai could soon be taking advantage of the trend toward the free independent traveler or FIT, Kanoho said, a short descriptor of the new, free-spirited Japanese tourist willing to get off the tour bus and strike out alone.
“They speak more English and feel more comfortable in pursuing an individual vacation,” Kanoho said.
Until they come in greater numbers, however, the KVB will continue to focus on English-speaking countries, including the emerging markets of Australia and New Zealand.
“We just hosted Qantas Airlines (the Austrialian national airline) doing a six-page article on Kaua‘i,” she said. “I’m on a plane to Japan on Tuesday to participate in the Japan Association of Travel Agents/World Tourism Congress and Travel Fair tradeshow, and then on to Hong Kong to participate in American Society of Travel Agents and World Travel Congress.”
The KVB spends about $500,000 on advertising, and part of its budget on hosting travel writers, a call center on Honolulu, and a “fulfillment center” in Arizona, from where requested documents are mailed.
They also sponsor various athletic events, particularly those with the greatest television coverage.
The contractors for the HTA’s 2005 marketing season are:
Hawaii Visitor and Convention Bureau & Island Chapters, handling North America; Hawaii Tourism Japan (Denstu), handling Japan; Hawaii Tourism Europe (The Magnum Group), handling Europe; Hawaiia Tourism Oceania (The Walshe Group), handling Oceania; Hawaii Tourism Asia (The Marketing Gardent), handling Asia, and SMG, handling the Hawaii Convention Center.
