Agents turn out in droves for Aloha Down Under Roadshow

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Hawaii Tourism Oceania (HTO) wrapped up the Australian portion of its Aloha Down Under industry roadshow in Friday (27 July, 2018), after events in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney CBD and the western Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Aussie showcase ended on a high, literally, with a media event held at STUDIO Sydney Tower. Guests were entertained by performers direct from the Polynesian Cultural Center (video below). Over 1,200 travel agents registered to attend Aloha Down Under, which included a two city stop in New Zealand following the Australian leg; in Wellington and Auckland. Along with the trade and media functions in Sydney, HTO held a dedicated B2B event for the 23 partners from Hawaii to meet with industry partners. Hawaii Tourism Oceania Country Manager Giselle Radulovic said attendance by agents at the showcase had been “amazing” – a sentiment that was echoed to LATTE by a number of delegates from Hawaii, who were particularly enthusiastic about the Parramatta show, put on due to demand in Greater Sydney. “All our events were at capacity because Hawaii always generates so much excitement,” she said. Radulovic highlighted a range of consumer-facing activity the organisation has been involved in so far this year to promote Hawaii, including a partnership with National Geographic focused on the soft adventure options on Kauai and the Island of Hawaii, outside radio broadcasts last year with MMMs’ three morning shows in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne over the period of a week, telecast live from Waikiki Beach, and extended coverage on Network Ten’s The Living Room which featured a dedicated episode on Hawaii, broadcast on 1 June 2018 and had a viewership of over 1 million. Other projects to ensure Hawaii remains front-of-mind with Australian travellers has included the Aloha Apprentice campaign, run in partnership with non-trade partner, Airtasker, which saw nearly 900 applications. Winner Jamie Scroop was subsequently immersed in the Hawaiian culture and was later part of an activation in Martin Place, Sydney on Lei Day – a “culturally significant holiday” for Hawaiians. Later this year, industry partners will have the opportunity to participate in Hawaii Tourism Authority’s annual Global Tourism Summit in Honolulu, held from 1-3 October. Further, Radulovic confirmed MMM Melbourne would be returning to Hawaii for another outside broadcast. HTO has also struck a sporting partnership with the Sydney Kings which will see the basketball team flown to Honolulu for a demonstration game against the LA Clippers ahead of the start of the season. On the trade front, Hawaii Tourism Oceania has launched a travel agent incentive – all the details on LATTE’s website under “Incentives”.

Lead image – posing just for LATTE! The entire delegation of 23 suppliers with the team from Hawaii Tourism Oceania.

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