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This deepening bond plays out in their commitment to Hawaiian
cultural traditions and values such as
‘
ohana
(connection to extended
family and friends), and
aloha aina
(love and respect for the land).
“It’s really wonderful to see our owners and guests basically living
like locals while they’re here,” says June Cappiello, director of public
relations for The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas on the neigh-
boring island of Kauai. “Our owners will go down to the Kilauea
Farmers Market on Saturday and hang out with the farmers.” They
also enjoy taking botanical garden tours to learn about indigenous
Hawaiian plants and efforts to remove invasive species from the area.
Honor and protection of land and culture are evident, too, in Welk
Resorts’ plans for its new property on Kauai’s Poipu Beach. The project
isn’t scheduled to break ground until 2018, but designs already
account for the preservation of a 3-acre (1.2 hectares) archaeological
site discovered on the property. Lava rock walls from homes built hun-
dreds of years ago are visible, and the developer intends to recreate
the village that existed at that time on a topographical map, which will
be part of the viewing platform. “We want our guests and the commu-
nity to learn more about the Hawaiian heritage and culture,” says Jon P.
Fredricks, Welk Resorts’ president and CEO.
#LetHawaiiHappen
Promoting a deeper experience of Hawaii is the basis of a yearlong
social media engagement program launched by the Hawaii Visitors and
Convention Bureau (HVCB), targeting first-time visitors to the islands.
Residents and visitors are invited to use the hashtag #LetHawaiiHappen
when they share images and videos of Hawaii beyond its iconic sights on
HVCB’s gohawaii social channels. In its first two months, the campaign
generated 28 million social impressions, 1.3 million video views, and
18,000 hashtag uses. Throughout 2015, HVCB is curating content for its
website and integrated print, digital, and online marketing.
“Most all of our photos on our social media channels are tagged
#LetHawaiiHappen,” says Nolan, who is vice chair of the Maui Visitors
Bureau. “The campaign certainly lets people know that Hawaii is more
than fun and sun. It’s the people, it’s the stories, it’s the legends that are
way more powerful than any tan or snorkel-
ing excursion you can take. It’s certainly
been a great way for us to connect and
reach a greater audience.”
Westin’s commitment to Hawaii goes
deep. Both Westin Starwood Vacation
Ownership resorts in Hawaii employ a full-
time director of culture and guest experi-
ence, and Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort
Villas recently opened the Pu’uhonua
Cultural Center, honoring Hawaiian tradi-
tions such as storytelling, games, art, and
implements.”
Recruiting Brand Ambassadors
While timeshare resorts fared better than hotels during the recession,
the growth in tourism is still good news in a competitive global market.
“I am confident that as a market, we’re on a robust upswing,” Nolan
says. “All of our travel partners — wholesalers and travel agents — are
saying the same thing, that they’re seeing positive movement and num-
bers in terms of those looking to come to Hawaii.”
Part of the HTA’s strategic marketing push has been to turn travel
agents into brand ambassadors. The organization trained 11,425
agents at trade shows and events in 2014 and introduced a website
dedicated to the travel trade, with new certification courses, an
Explore Hawaii interactive tool, and tablet- and smartphone-enabled
promotion.
“We continue to identify and expand our efforts in new markets to
help to balance and diversify Hawaii’s destination portfolio and market
share,” says Ronald Williams, interim CEO of HTA. The organization
works closely with contractors in major markets worldwide to keep the
Hawaiian islands top-of-mind. “Recognizing the growth potential in
developing markets like Latin America — Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina,
the HTA hired a marketing contractor last year, and we plan to further
grow efforts in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia,” Williams says.
Keeping Paradise Fresh
“At the end of the day, we’re always going to be competing with other
destinations like Mexico,” Nolan says. “Just because we’re on an
upswing and people are traveling, and travel sentiment and spend are
better, we’d be naive to think that we don’t need to continue to make
sure that we’re educating people on why Hawaii is a great place. We
need to continue to find innovative ways to reinvent our business and
make sure that people want to come back and experience different
things and keep it fresh and keep it new.”
See page 2 for currency conversions.
Joyce Hadley Copeland, based in Tucson, Arizona, contributes regularly to
travel and hospitality publications and websites.
“Timeshare is good for
Hawaii and Hawaii’s
good for timeshare.”
— Howard C.Nusbaum,
president and CEO of ARDA
Gross Images/Alamy
HYATT KA’ANAPALI BEACH, MAUI