Hawai'i promotion takes lei around world

Advertiser Staff

The Hawai'i Visitors & Convention Bureau will give out 46,046 lei in 23 cities around the world May 1 as part of its second annual May Day is Lei Day promotion to market tourism to the Islands.

"Our Lei Day promotion last year was a tremendous ... success," Tony Vericella, HVCB president and chief executive officer, said in a statement announcing the program's expansion.

The bureau said it did not know how much this year's promotion would cost, but estimated it would be similar to the cost of last year's. Last year the bureau spent $200,000 on the Lei Day campaign, which included giving away about 31,000 lei to people in 17 cities. As many as 85 media outlets carried stories of the promotion, with a potential audience of 73 million people, the bureau said.

In addition to the flowers, each person will receive a card explaining the the tradition of lei giving. Cards will be written in English, German, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese or Korean.

Bureau representatives will hand out the lei at "centrally located, high-traffic/visibility venues," the bureau said.

Last year's promotion included the audience of the "Rosie O'Donnell Show" in New York wearing lei.