Australia's Top Breakfast Show Broadcasts Live 

from Hawaii

Hawaii Tourism Oceania (HTO) worked in partnership with Australia's top morning show Sunrise to promote Hawaii to its 2.9 million viewers. HTO and the show collaborated with industry partners including Jetstar Airways, Flight Centre and Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort to coordinate the week-long shoot. 

"This truly was an incredible opportunity for our market and perfect timing with all of our increases in airlift," said Ashlee Galea, country manager, HTO. "We expect this to generate a great result in terms of future bookings to the Hawaiian Islands." Read more.

HTO's Ashlee Galea and Janaya Birse pose with the SUNRISE crew at Waikiki Beach

HTO Takes AIME in 2015

Travelers from Australia and New Zealand are beginning to view Hawaii as more than just a holiday destination, but also as a place to do business and host incentive travel. HTO is capitalizing on this trend and reaching out to the Meetings Convention and Incentive (MCI) market through various opportunities including Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo (AIME) 2015. 

Ashlee Galea, Megan Hornblow and Holly Ballard of HTO represented the destination at 72 pre-scheduled appointments over two days, and provided information about Hawaii to numerous planners that stopped by their stand. They handed out USB information packets which included partner collateral, and promoted the Meet Hawaii Roadshow with through a 'save the date' invitation to AIME attendees. Read more.

This April, ClimbHI will be kicking off the fourth year of its Hospitality Career Development LEI (Leadership, Exploration and Inspiration) program on Maui, Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii Island. It is anticipated that LEI 2015 will expose 870 students, chaperones and mentors, to the visitor industry, and provide valuable insight into hospitality career opportunities. 

"We are excited to partner with this program again and showcase the hospitality industry to a new generation," said Jadie Goo, HTA tourism brand manager in charge of career development. "Programs like LEI give industry businesses a chance to inspire and inform students about the benefits of working in the tourism sector, and the various career paths that they can consider." Read more.

HTA welcomed more than 300 attendees to its Spring Marketing Update on March 11 at the Hawaii Convention Center. Global contractors from North America, Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Oceania, Europe and Latin America provided a 2014 recap, market updates and outlook for 2015 and upcoming marketing opportunities. For those who were unable to attend in-person, the conference was streamed live online.

The webinar, marketing contractor presentations and handouts are now available on the HTA website.

If you attended, please provide us your feedback by completing a short survey here; for those who streamed the update online, please complete the survey here. Mahalo! 

The HTA is proud to support the Polynesian Voyaging Society, which perpetuates and shares the Hawaiian tradition of navigation, values of sustainability, shares the aloha and enhances Hawaii's connection and relationship with those abroad.

With the Hokulea and Hikianalia in New Zealand through next month, HTO organized a VIP event at the New Zealand Maritime Museum on March 18 to highlight both canoe, their crews and their Malama Honua Worldwide Voyage. The event also included entertainment by Halau Hula o Kalaaulani o Puuanahulu from Hawaii Island who traveled to New Zealand for the recent Pasifika Festival. Guests included the U.S. Consul General and leading wholesale and retail chain partners from Auckland. Read more.