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19

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