Video Message From
HTA President and CEO John De Fries
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E nihi ka helena i uka o Puna; mai pūlale i ka ʻike a ka maka. (‘Ōlelo Noʻeau 360)
Go quietly in the uplands of Puna; do not let anything you see distract you.
This proverb reminds us to be mindful in our travels, to tread carefully, and not let the things we observe lead us into trouble.
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On August 5, Governor David Ige hosted a very small and intimate Proclamation Ceremony to honor and celebrate Olympic Gold Medalist Carissa Moore. Also in attendance were Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA) President and CEO John De Fries, HTA Chief Brand Officer Kalani Kaʻanāʻanā and HTA Surfing Advisory Committee member Billy Pratt. John shared a moʻolelo of the late Reverend Abraham Akaka and his sermon about the strings of an ʻukulele. The strings represented the different nations and races of the world. When they were in tune there was harmony and peace, but when they were out of tune there was dissonance and conflict. In John’s reflection, that sermon embodied the “Olympic Dream” of nations coming together. In conclusion of this story, he revealed that it was indeed the spirit of aloha that kept the ʻukulele in tune.
Carissa exemplifies the spirit of aloha and it is with great pride that HTA and the visitor industry extend our aloha and congratulations to her!
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NaHHA, Native Hawaiian Chambers Launch Business Directory
Hawaiʻi’s Native Hawaiian Chambers of Commerce and the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association are proud to announce Kuhikuhi.com, a project to help direct more customers to Native Hawaiian-owned businesses. Building upon a shared commitment to growing local, Native Hawaiian-owned businesses in Hawaiʻi, Kuhikuhi.com is a collective project of the Native Hawaiian Chambers of Commerce on Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Oʻahu and Kauaʻi, and the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association. Support for the effort was provided by the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority, Kamehameha Schools, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and Movers & Shakas. Listing your Hawaiian-owned business is free – sign up today!
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Completed in 2020, the coral reef informational beach signs produced by the Maui Nui Marine Resource Council and funded by HTA continue to draw a lot of attention on Maui. The signs educate visitors and residents about how to protect coral and wildlife while enjoying the wonders of the nearshore ocean environment. In addition to the 39 signs already installed, the organization has received requests from Marriott's Maui Ocean Club on Kā‘anapali Beach to add more signs on their property.
We encourage our industry partners to consider collaborating with organizations like the Maui Nui Marine Resource Council to further educate their guests.
This type of collaboration between our HTA Aloha ʻĀina partners and industry partners is a win-win situation for all. More signs for greater awareness and increased visibility allow our messages of Mālama Hawaiʻi and Kuleana to continually resonate with our visitors and kamaʻāina.
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Summer 2021 Destination Management Action Plan Progress Reports
Now Available
HTA convened Destination Management Action Plan (DMAP) Steering Committee meetings for the islands of Kaua‘i, Maui, Hawai‘i, Moloka‘i and Lāna‘i during the first three weeks of August to provide progress to date on the actions being implemented on their respective islands. You can see the progress on each DMAP thus far by viewing the Summer 2021 DMAP Progress Reports at www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/what-we-do/hta-programs/community-based-tourism/. Click on your island of interest, then click the link under “Follow Our Progress.”
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Mālama Hawai‘i Earns Positive Press
The Mālama Hawai‘i campaign’s positive momentum continues with earned media coverage from Forbes, NBC.com, SFGate and the Houston Chronicle, as well as trade outlets including Skift, Travel Weekly, and Prevue Meetings and Incentives.
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Travelers Like to Know That They Are Welcomed at Their Destinations
In Destination Analysts' latest report, 70.2% of travelers say that they are unlikely to travel to a destination that has a reputation of being unwelcoming. American travelers who said they can think of a U.S. destination where they would expect an unwelcoming atmosphere jumped more than 7% to 20.3%. Source: Destination Analysts Wave 72
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Firmwide Travel Trade Team Attends Global Travel Marketplace in Florida
Hawai‘i Tourism USA and the Island Chapters met with 118 vetted travel advisors — each with a minimum of $1 million in personal annual sales — at the Global Travel Marketplace, held from July 8-10, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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Japan Media Features Hawaiian Islands, Spotlights Mālama Hawaiʻi
Japan media continued featuring Hawaiʻi in July, with 119 exposures on media outlets that reach a significant portion of Japan’s population. Many media outlets also spotlighted Hawaiʻi’s tourism management and the new direction of tourism development. Hawai‘i Tourism Japan (HTJ) shared information about Mālama Hawaiʻi in media interviews alongside messaging from HTA President and CEO John De Fries on television and radio programs.
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Hawai‘i Tourism Japan Launches Hōkūleʻa Microsite
HTJ launched a new Hōkūleʻa microsite (https://www.allhawaii.jp/hokulea) within the allhawaii.jp website on July 22 - Ocean Day in Japan - as a part of its Mālama Hawaiʻi initiatives. The site showcases Hōkūleʻa’s achievements, including its Moananuiākea voyage circumnavigating the Pacific Ocean, and educational materials encouraging Japanese audiences to adopt sustainable practices. The microsite’s contents were created with assistance from the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s Japanese crew.
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HTJ Endorses and Participates in Japan Consumer Events
In July, HTJ endorsed 17 consumer events in Japan. Connected through a Shirahama Beach Clean Up project on July 3, HTJ met with Shirahama government officials to discuss strengthening Honolulu’s and Shirahama’s relationship. Shirahama is the City and County of Honolulu’s Friendship City and Beach. A Mālama Hawaiʻi event was held in Sennan Long Park in Osaka from July 22 through 25 with support from HTJ, which created a booth showcasing the Mālama Hawaiʻi campaign’s initiatives of perpetuating culture and preserving natural resources.
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Canada Updates its Border Policies for Travelers
On August 9, Canada began accepting entry by U.S. citizens and permanent residents, and ended hotel quarantine for all travelers. The Canadian border will reopen to fully vaccinated travelers from all countries on September 7. Fully vaccinated travelers will no longer be required to submit to on-arrival and day-eight testing, but may be subject to random testing at the border.
As of August 9, unvaccinated dependents of fully vaccinated travelers are no longer required to complete the full 14-day quarantine. Instead, they will have to follow public health measures for that amount of time, including avoiding group settings such as schools and daycare in the two weeks following their arrival in Canada.
Airports in Halifax, Quebec City, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Edmonton have also been open to international air arrivals since August 9.
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Mālama Hawaiʻi Videos Shared with
Canadian Agents
Hawai‘i Tourism Canada (HTCAN) is distributing Mālama Hawai‘i videos to create awareness of the importance of responsible travel. HTCAN was able to negotiate the inclusion of one of the campaign’s videos, “Habitat Stewardship,” on all of WestJet’s flights in September and October.
In addition, two Mālama Hawai‘i videos — “Habitat Stewardship” and “Aquaculture” — were presented at an outdoor tradeshow in Newmarket, Ontario on July 29. Held in a drive-in theatre, the educational event featured 10 destinations updating more than 150 attending agents from the Greater Toronto Area. HTCAN presented the Mālama Hawai‘i videos above and another video encouraging agents to stress the importance of responsible travel to their customers and to become Hawai‘i Destination Specialists.
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Hawai‘i Tourism Oceania Participates in Visit USA Travel Trade Event in
New Zealand
The Visit USA Organizations of Australia and New Zealand recommenced activity in the market in July. Their return events included a hybrid virtual and physical travel trade event in Auckland, New Zealand, where Hawai‘i Tourism Oceania (HTO) updated industry members on the reopening of tourism in the Islands and the Mālama Hawai‘i initiative. HTO has executive committee memberships in both organizations.
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Hawai‘i Tourism Korea Shares Updated Information for Consumers Considering Hawai‘i Travel
Hawai‘i Tourism Korea (HTK) recently distributed its bimonthly e-newsletter to more than 35,000 Korean consumers, sharing updates on Hawai‘i’s entry requirements and the Mālama Hawai‘i campaign. In addition, the newsletter also spotlighted information on car-sharing service Holoholo, the Waikīkī PCR Test Center and Hawai‘i hotel updates. It also shared news that the State’s Trusted Testing Partner agreement with the Incheon Airport COVID-19 Test Center went into effect on July 15.
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HTK Relaunches “Aloha Report” Video Series
In July, HTK relaunched its Aloha Report video series, which engages a correspondent living in the Islands to deliver lively, up-to-date Hawai‘i content on HTK’s Instagram channel as part of its year-round social program, #Stories of Aloha. The program aims to increase fan-base and interaction numbers by sharing timely Hawai‘i lifestyle content. The program also aims to include stories involving correspondent Jinny Lee as she experiences the Hawaiian culture, aloha spirit and Mālama Hawai‘i program.
Lee is a Honolulu-based social media influencer delivering content to Korean audiences via her own oneweekinhawaii Instagram account, which has more than 6,600 followers. She is a former editor of Vogue Korea, author of a bestselling Hawai‘i guidebook for Korean readers, and a broadcast personality on KBFD-TV.
Lee has worked with HTK on Aloha Report since 2018.
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HTK Kicks off Mālama Hawaiʻi Promotion with
Travel Agencies
HTK recently initiated a Mālama Hawai‘i promotion in partnership with major travel agencies.
Nine travel agencies are participating in the promotion, with each developing and hosting a Mālama Hawai‘i promotion page on their respective websites. The pages feature messages sharing the importance of practicing mālama while visiting Hawai‘i, and includes related content such as a Mālama Hawai‘i video, logo and images from the campaign. The agencies are also actively promoting their new promotion pages to maximize consumer engagement.
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HTA recognizes the use of the 'okina ['] or glottal stop, one of the eight consonants of the (modern) Hawaiian language; and the kahakō [ō] or macron (e.g., in place names of Hawai'i such as Lāna'i). However, HTA respects the individual use of these markings for names of organizations and businesses. Due to technological limitations, this current communication
may not include all Hawaiian diacritical markings.
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