The Hawai‘i Society of Business Professionals along with its partners, Hawai‘i Tourism Wholesalers Assoc., Hawai‘i Lodging & Tourism Assoc. and Waikiki Improvement Assoc. proudly presents:
Tourism contributed $1.26 billion in tax revenue for the state as of October 2013, an increase of 3.4% over 2012. Although expenditures in 2014 are expected to exceed the records reached in 2012, the declines in September and October of 2013 are expected to continue into 2014. Hawaii Tourism Authority President and CEO Mike McCartney, has said that “we will actively monitor our global competition, the rising cost of a Hawaii vacation, and other economic factors that could impact a potential downturn in our tourism economy.”
Our tourism panel will cover trends and forecasts, strategic planning, and assistance for visitors when unexpected problems arise.
Mike McCartney, President and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, will share trends, forecasts and his “predictions” on writing the next chapter for Hawaii’s visitor industry.
Joining Mike on our Tourism panel is Pohai Ryan, the recently selected Executive Director of the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association (NaHHA). She was formerly the Executive Director of the Kailua Chamber of Commerce and the Director of the Kailua Information Center which hosted as many as 1,200 visitors a month. The NaHHA was named as the lead organization for the Hawaii Tourism Strategic Plan for 2005-2015, in an effort to integrate and perpetuate Hawaiian culture, historic perspective and values throughout the state visitor industry.
Rounding out our panel is Jessica Lani Rich, the President and Executive Director of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii (VASH), whose most recent success was helping a couple of visitors get back to Chicago after surviving the airplane crash off of Molokai. As the former news director at KUMU, Jessica functioned as the dispassionate chronicler of events, good and bad, but that's certainly not how she ended up. For the past 7 years, she intervenes when personal tragedy befalls a tourist. The Visitor Aloha Society is a temporary lifeline to provide initial assistance until visitors can contact family and friends at home. Cases range from the merely disruptive (losing a wallet on the beach) to life-shattering episodes such as the missing hiker from Norway whose family ultimately came to retrieve his remains.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
11:30 Sign In, Networking 12:00 Lunch and Program 1:30 Adjourn
Hawai‘i Prince Hotel, Waikiki Mauna Kea Ballroom
Registration must be made and paid for in advance online at www.HSBP.biz
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