Invitation to meet Charles Djou, at the Hawaii Tourism Wholesalers Association

HONOLULU: AUGUST 1, 2014  -- Charles Djou, the Republican Candidate for Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District will keynote the monthly meeting of the Hawaii Tourism Wholesalers Association (HTWA) on Wed Aug 13, 2014, 5 - 7 pm at the HASR Bistro, 31 N. Pauahi St, Honolulu. 

The public is invited but seating is limited to 30. Please contact Gail Glushenko for 

reservations.

Gail Glushenko

(808) 223-1181

gglushenko@gmail.com

ABOUT CHARLES DJOU

Charles Djou represented Hawai’i’s First Congressional District from 2010 to 2011. The First Congressional District comprises the urban core of Honolulu from the eastern shores of Oahu to the western areas of Ewa and Kapolei, and includes Mililani, Waikiki and Downtown. He was a member of the House Budget Committee and the House Armed Services Committee. Before entering the U.S. House, Charles served on the Honolulu City Council and in the Hawaii State House of Representatives, where he was Minority Floor Leader. Charles is a Major in the U.S. Army Reserve. He is a combat veteran who served with the U.S. Army in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan during the “surge” of coalition forces in 2011-2012. Charles deployed with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Infantry Division at Forward Operating Base Pasab in Kandahar Province. Charles’ military decorations include the Combat Action Badge and the Army Commendation Medal. MORE at  http://hkchcc.org/htwa.htm

The Hawaii Tourism Wholesalers Association was established to connect Hawaii Tourism Wholesalers, Business Executives in the Visitors and Related Industries in the Public and Private Sectors both Domestic and Foreign.  HTWA meets monthly (2nd Wednesday) from 5:00 - 7:00 pm at the HASR Bistro, 31 N. Pauahi St, Honolulu, Hawaii.

The Hawaii Tourism Wholesalers Association

Officers and Directors - 2013 - 2014

Johnson Choi, President/Director  

Tom Matthews, Immediate Past President/Director

Tom Coyne, Vice President/Director  

Gail Glushenko, Secretary/Treasurer/Director 

Bobby Chang, Director 

Chinese Tourism - It is NOT COVERED IN Hawaii

eTN Received correspondence  from Johnson W K Choi ,President & CEO  Hong Kong Hawaii Chamber of Commerce, China Hawaii Chamber of Commerce & Asia Pacific California Chamber of Commerce.

eTN is a founder of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) www.ictp.travel  . ICTP is a Hawaii based organization with 126 tourism boards as members, including many stakeholders, associations in the international travel and tourism scene.

ICTP is part of the eTN network of 1.3 million travelers, 230,000+ travel industry professionals and 17,000 publications and journalists interested in travel and tourism worldwide, including this Kamaainas blog.

Among ICTP members are  Visit California, Brand USA, the Chinese National Tourism Organization ,but NOT the Hawaii Tourism Authority or any other tourism organization in Hawaii.  Invitations had been ignored, even though ICTP is based here in our State, and membership was offered free of charge.

When Air China started service from Beijing to Honolulu in January, HTA instructed it's PR agency not to invite eTN, not to send a photo or any other information to eTurboNews. Our eTN reporter was told not to ask for "favors" when requesting a photo. eTN turned to Air China directly to get the information. Click here for the eTN article.

Outreach to  Chinese Outbound Tourism has been a successful project for ICTP for some time with results for many tourism boards around the globe.

Here is the letter from Johnson WK Choi voicing his frustration with current policies and missed opportunities.

A 7,000 tour group from China just left Southern CA each spent a minimum of US$10,000 - you do the math. Unofficially $ spent much higher. They love CA so much that they are coming back.

cTrip in China sold out a US$200,000 group luxury tour package in 17 seconds.

If you look at CA from North to South, you will be amazed the number of people knew what it takes to bring it large groups with infrastructure support that Hawaii is seriously lacking.

The head of the tourism of all the cities involved are very good sales person. They travel extensively, our heads of tourism ask someone to do it for us and stay home.

The number of Mayors that are Chinese and know what it takes to bring in large tour group help (such as Mayor of SF and Anaheim).

None of our leaders from Governor to mayor to DBEDT have an idea what it take to bring in tour group from Asia besides the Japanese.

On the infrastructure side we are weak, our convention center too small, lack of hotels to handle large groups, lack of venue and theme parks and the long list goes on.

Many of my friends who visited Hawaii before found Saipan more attractive and we are competing with a long list of destinations.

We have a lot of work to do.

Johnson W K Choi, MBA, RFC

President & CEO 行政總裁

Hong Kong Hawaii Chamber of Commerce, China Hawaii Chamber of Commerce & Asia Pacific California Chamber of Commerce

Hawaii tourism continues to dwindle

HONOLULU, HI - Nearly 640,000 tourists traveled to Hawaii in April, 2014, roughly the same number that visited Aloha State in April of 2013, but they spent 2.2 percent less than last year.

Mike McCartney, President and CEO of Hawaii Tourism Authority, issued the following statement today:

"During the first four months of 2014, both spending (-2.9% to $4.9 billion) and arrivals (-2.6% to 2,720,760) have softened compared to the record growth Hawaii's tourism economy experienced in 2013. The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) anticipates a continued slowdown through the second quarter of 2014, a traditionally slower travel period for the state.

Declines in arrivals have been affected by a decrease in Hawaii's cruise business (-18.9%), as the HTA continues to work with the state Department of Transportation (DOT) and Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to improve access at Hawaii's harbors. We recently issued a request for proposals for maritime vessel scheduling software, which will help to establish an integrated system that will ease vessel scheduling to optimize the use of dock space to accommodate more cruise ships throughout the Hawaiian Islands.

Other factors affecting visitor arrivals include growing competition, the strengthening of the U.S. dollar against international currencies and other economic conditions.

As a result, the HTA continues focusing on diversifying our international markets by increasing destination awareness and interest in markets like Australia, New Zealand, China, Korea, Taiwan and Latin America. The HTA recently contracted a general sales agent (GSA) for Latin America and is planning to issue RFPs for representation in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Developing these newer markets creates opportunities for attracting first-time, higher spending visitors to Hawaii.  

Strengthening our core markets like the U.S. and Japan also remain a priority for the HTA. Seasonal direct service from the West Coast to Kona and Lihue this summer will help to boost visitor arrivals from the region, and increase distribution across the state. The HTA is also working with the Hawaii Tourism Japan on promoting an Oahu concert with the popular J-Pop group, Arashi, which is expected to attract 15,000 visitors from Japan in September.

Visitor arrivals and expenditures will continue to plateau in 2014, in comparison to the past two record-breaking years. Through the strategic and collective efforts of our industry, marketing and other stakeholder partners, we will continue to work together to balance and strengthen Hawaii's tourism economy."

Aloha doesn’t live in Hainan

Hainan Island

Flower Lei in Hainan

Aloha Shirt made in Hainan

Aloha Shirt in Hainan

Aloha made in Hainan

Hawaii Style Resort in Hainan

Hainan Skyline

Hula Dancers in Hainan

It is usually the case that when an high-end product is replicated, it is because of price value.  Those who cannot afford an “original” would buy a “knock-off.”  China is a haven for mass production of both, for very obvious reasons.  But, on a recent trip to China has got be bewildered and puzzled, as I witnessed a destination piggybacking on another destination’s marketing schemes so blatantly obvious that is almost embarrassing to see.   The island of Hainan is shamelessly touting itself as “China’s Hawaii.”

<strong>Aloha shirts</strong>

The first hint of Hainan ripping off Hawaii’s image is when I walked into the venue for Sanya Tourism reception and Dinner during the recently-held 2014 Global Summit by the World Travel & Tourism Council.  As I made my way towards the venue, an open space area at the Double Tree Resort, I felt very much like walking into a Hawaii-themed event.  Majority of the attendees were decked up in colorful shirts that had mostly floral prints on them.  I was confused.  That confusion ultimately made me feel awkward, which made it impossible for me to “talk” with anyone.  I felt immersed in a bad Twilight Zone episode that ultimately led me to walk out of the dinner function.  It just did not feel right to be there.

<strong>Logo</strong>

Another obvious rip by Hainan of Hawaii is the marketing logo.  One look at Hainan logo and I instantaneously thought of Hawaii’s logo.  The colors and the fonts are almost identical.  Whoever designed Hainan’s logo should be fired immediately because it’s degrading for a destination to do such a thing.  It has enough going for itself that it need not stoop to that level.  Hainan, as I will point out later on, has a unique identity that is far from Hawaii and can stand as a world class destination on its own merit.  

The rip on Hawaii’s logo by Hainan struck me as something silly and inconceivable. For what its worth it is a clear indication of lack of creativity, let alone authenticity.  Whoever masterminded the design did some minor tweaks, but the similarity is palpable.  Take both logos and edit them using a black and white filter and it is hard to tell the two apart.  See  what I’m talking about:  

<strong>Nuances</strong>

The word “aloha” is unique to Hawaii, so Hainan obviously cannot use it.  But, a trip to Yanoda Cultural Tourism Zone revealed that Hainan has a version - “yanoda.”  Yanoda Cultural Tourism Zone is a rainforest park that has manmade tourism features such as zip-lining, designated picture-taking areas with accompanying sounds effects, shops, etc.  Everywhere we were greeted by park employees with a smile and the word “yagona” to which visitors were instructed in the electronic mobile guide to respond to with by also saying “yagona.”  That same electronic guide first few sentences as soon as I turned it on said something to the effect of “When you visit Hawaii, you will find often that people are saying aloha, here we say yanoda.” I was floored.

In Hawaii, when people say “aloha,” it normally comes with a hand gesture called hang loose sign.  Lo and behold, Hainan’s “yanoda” does come with one, too.  It is identical to what most people refer to as the peace sign.  

<strong>“Leis”</strong>

In every hotel I checked into post-WTTC summit, I was greeted with some kind of a necklace.  I’m using the term loosely because in Hawaii, it is widely known that visitors are greeted with a floral necklace known as “leis.”  In Hainan, I found that they did the same thing, but each property took the liberty of creating a “necklace” of their own.  Each property was different.  The most ineffective of all during my visit was Narada Hot-spring Resort’s three-betel nut necklace.  Whoever thought that greeting guests with a necklace made of three betel nuts tied by a string should really consider one thing:  comfort.  Nobody in their right mind wants three miniature coconuts hanging on their neck.  They’re heavy and odd-looking.

Hainan should cease and desist all of its references to Hawaii immediately because it is causing them more harm than good.  Why would an island that will soon have a 7-star hotel would want to degrade itself when it need not to?  There’s ample reasons why Hainan should stand proud of itself as a tourism destination.  While it may be the case that they truly are trying to be “China’s Hawaii” that is catering mostly to domestic tourists and expats, it has so much to offer that it is ready to receive the world.  Hainan’s true identity, as I see it, will be the topic of part two of this series.  Hint: it is not the sandy beaches, not the tropical rain forests and most certainly not anything related to shirts, logos and hand gestures.

by Nelson Alcantara, eTN editor-in-chief

Air Canada rouge expands to Hawaii

Air Canada today announced that its leisure carrier subsidiary, Air Canada rougeTM, is expanding service to Hawaii with the introduction of new year-round non-stop flights between Toronto and Honolulu. The new route, offering the only non-stop service between Toronto and Hawaii, will begin November 26, 2014. Flights will be operated using Air Canada rouge Boeing 767-300 ER aircraft offering a choice of two cabins with three choices of service, personal space and comfort. To promote the new route, Air Canada rouge is offering savings of 20 per cent on bookings made by June 10, 2014 for travel until April 30, 2015 using the promotion code "aloharouge." Flights and optional Air Canada Vacations packages are available for purchase at aircanada.com.

"Hawaii has long been a very popular vacation destination for Canadians from coast to coast," said Benjamin Smith, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Air Canada. "With the expansion of Air Canada rouge to Hawaii, we are delighted to introduce the only non-stop flights between Toronto and Hawaii. Flights are timed to provide convenient connections at our main Toronto hub for flights serving destinations throughout Air Canada's extensive network. In combination with Air Canada Vacations, we are pleased to offer Canadians even more holiday choices."

In addition, Air Canada announced that existing year-round non-stop service from Vancouver to Honolulu and Maui, currently operated by Air Canada, will be converted to daily Air Canada rouge Boeing 767-300 ER service effective November 21 and December 1, 2014, respectively.

As part of its Air Canada rouge winter schedule to Caribbean destinations, twice-weekly seasonal service from Toronto to St. Maarten, previously operated by Air Canada, will be converted to Air Canada rouge Boeing 767-300ER service effective December 20.

"Air Canada rouge is best suited to compete more cost effectively in markets where there is both a high leisure travel demand and low-cost competition. The expansion of our leisure carrier to Hawaii, in tandem with Air Canada's mainline fleet renewal, is a key element of our strategy for sustainable, profitable growth at both airlines," concluded Mr. Smith.

Air Canada will continue to evaluate future market opportunities as new aircraft are introduced into its mainline fleet and existing aircraft are released for operation by Air Canada rouge as market demand warrants. Since the launch in July 2013 of Air Canada rouge, Air Canada has deployed its leisure carrier to a growing number of Caribbean, European and select sun destinations in the United States.

New Air Canada rouge Toronto-Honolulu year-round service:

Flight Departs Arrives Day of week
ZX1823 Toronto 16:10 Honolulu 21:20 Wednesday, Sunday
ZX1822 Honolulu 22:55 Toronto 13:00 +1 Wednesday, Sunday

Air Canada rouge Vancouver-Honolulu and Vancouver-Maui year round service:

Flight Departs Arrives Day of week
ZX1831 Vancouver 17:35 Honolulu 21:40 Daily in Winter
ZX1830 Honolulu 22:55 Vancouver 06:35 +1 Daily in Winter

Flight Departs Arrives Day of week
ZX1827 Vancouver 17:45 Maui 21:50 Daily in Winter
ZX1828 Maui 23:05 Vancouver 06:35 +1 Daily in Winter

Customers who have already booked travel to Hawaii directly through Air Canada on these routes converted to Air Canada rouge will be notified by email that their flight has been converted to Air Canada rouge. To mark the expansion of Air Canada rouge to Hawaii, the email includes a promotion code for 20 per cent off future travel on Air Canada and Air Canada rouge in North America including Hawaii and the Caribbean. The email also provides further information on Air Canada rouge, as well as the option to contact Air Canada Reservations at (844) 268-7290 for a full refund if the customer prefers to make a different travel choice to Hawaii. Customers who have booked through their travel agent would be notified by their travel agent who is also available to provide further information and options available to them.

With the addition of the Hawaii and St. Maarten routes, together with its previously announced summer 2014 schedule to Europe, the Caribbean and the United States, Air Canada rouge plans to operate a total of 58 routes by next winter, including service this summer to Barcelona, Dublin, Lisbon, Manchester, Nice and Rome.

We’re not just the “phone company” anymore.”

How Hawaiian Telcom is Emerging as an Innovative Home Entertainment Company
Sales & Marketing Executives Honolulu Presents an Evening with Nick Dinsmoor, Executive Director – Consumer Marketing and IPTV of Hawaiian Telcom

Honolulu, HI, April 17, 2014 – The Honolulu Chapter of Sales & Marketing Executives International presents Nick Dinsmoor, Executive Director – Consumer Marketing and IPTV of Hawaiian Telcom, for a dinner meeting that begins at 5:30p.m. on Tuesday, April 29th, at The Pacific Club. For reservations and more information visit www.smeihonolulu.com.

Join Honolulu Sales and Marketing Executives as Mr. Dinsmoor shares some insight into how this 130-year-old company found its way from plain old telephone service, to becoming Hawaii’s leading provider of integrated communications, technology and entertainment solutions. Where does IPTV fit into the Hawaii market? What consumer trends are changing with technology? How will subscriber-based TV service providers survive among the competitive likes of Amazon’s Prime Instant Video, Google TV, Netflix and other over-the-top technologies?

As Executive Director – Consumer Marketing and IPTV, Mr. Dinsmoor’s responsibilities include leadership and oversight for Hawaiian Telcom’s TV line of business and P&L, content management and partner relationships, application product management, pricing, packaging, offers and promotions for all consumer products as well as overall corporate research and data management functions.
Dinsmoor has over 18 years in marketing and sales experience, joining Hawaiian Telcom in 2006 as the Director of Business Marketing when the company was sold from Verizon and became an independent entity. Over the last eight years he has held several leadership roles across the business with increased levels of responsibility.
Prior to coming to Hawaii, Dinsmoor worked at AT&T for 10 years in various leadership roles across sales, marketing, product development, wholesale services, and wireless. He is a graduate of Bowling Green State University with a bachelor’s degree in communications, and master's in technology management from Mercer University in Atlanta, GA.

The event begins at 5:30p.m. Tuesday, April 29. For reservations and more information, visit www.smeihonolulu.org. Online ticket prices are available at $65 for SMEI members, $75 for non-members. Dinner meeting sponsorships are available. Call (808) 942-7000 or e-mail laura@smeihonolulu.com with questions.

Sales & Marketing Executives International would like to thank its trade sponsors: Hawaiian Airlines, Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Ameriprise Financial - Dave Livingston, Financial Advisor, and Pacific Edge Magazine.

Since its inception in 1948, SMEI, Honolulu Chapter, has been hosting learning and networking opportunities for sales and marketing executives. Sales & Marketing Executives International is the worldwide organization dedicated to ethical standards, continuing professional development, knowledge sharing, mentoring students and advancing free enterprise. To learn more about SMEI’s dinner meeting or make a reservation, please visit www.smeihonolulu.com. 

Turtle Bay Resort Collaborates on Historic Conservation Easement to Preserve 665.8 Acres of North Shore Open Space in Perpetuity

Officials of Turtle Bay Resort are pleased that a conservation easement to preserve in perpetuity 665.8 acres of scenic open space on the North Shore, including Kawela Bay, has been secured with the State of Hawaii.

This landmark agreement, which covers nearly 79% of the open space land owned by Turtle Bay Resort makai of Kamehameha Highway, was announced today by Governor Neil Abercrombie at the Hawaii State Capitol. 

Added together with the 469 acres of open space land that Turtle Bay Resort owns mauka of Kamehameha Highway and is protecting with a separate conservation easement, and this brings the total amount of North Shore open space being preserved in perpetuity to 1,134.8 acres. 

Drew Stotesbury, CEO of Turtle Bay Resort, commented, “It is a great privilege to be a steward of Turtle Bay. Our tenure began four years ago and, from the start, we sought opportunities to understand and balance community interests. This led to scaling back the resort’s expansion plan by more than 60% and increasing oceanfront setbacks by 50% to 300%. 

“We also opened the door to working with partners on additional land conservation and are delighted the State accepted this invitation. This agreement is proof that private-public partnerships can achieve conservation of treasured natural resources. These spectacular stretches of shoreline and large tracts of land will be preserved forever as open space for all to appreciate.”

Stotesbury added, “Securing this conservation easement was a complex process that involved extensive collaboration from government, nonprofits and community members. We are appreciative of Governor Abercrombie and his administration’s leadership and efforts in working through the negotiations on an agreement that is acceptable to both the State of Hawaii and Turtle Bay Resort. We are also grateful for Senator Clayton Hee’s contribution to these negotiations, and for the support of Mayor Kirk Caldwell and the Honolulu City Council in making this agreement possible.”

The conservation easement was secured for $48.5 million, of which $40 million is being provided by the State of Hawaii, $5 million by the City and County of Honolulu, and $3.5 million by The Trust for Public Land. It ensures that 665.8 acres of prime open space owned by the resort that is presently zoned for resort development will remain undeveloped forever. These areas are popular sites for hiking, fishing, and ocean sports activities. 

Turtle Bay Resort will continue to maintain these areas and looks forward to enhancing them in partnership with the State of Hawaii, City and County of Honolulu, and community through responsible stewardship and management of the natural and cultural resources. 

The conservation easement announced today complements a similar agreement Turtle Bay Resort has secured to protect 469 acres of agricultural-zoned open space land located mauka of Kamehameha Highway. The resort is working with the City, State, Federal Government, North Shore Community Land Trust, and The Trust for Public Land to finalize this conservation easement in the next couple of months.

Turtle Bay Resort retains rights to develop two new hotel sites near the existing hotel and one resort residential site on the Kahuku side of its property. The two hotels would generate an estimated 3,500 jobs during construction and, once completed, an estimated 700-plus permanent new jobs on the resort grounds and an additional 750 permanent indirect jobs within the community.