Visitors bureau crafts new strategy
By Katherine Nichols
Advertiser Staff Writer
In a push toward recovery by the end of the second quarter, leaders from the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau presented a revised and refined marketing plan yesterday that includes a more specific approach in Japan and opportunities with Disney.
Bureau executive director Tony Vericella said the goal is to stabilize the number of visitor days by June.
Vericella yesterday outlined for hoteliers, wholesalers and retailers representing all of the Islands — some of HVCB's 4,000 dues-paying organizations — how the bureau hopes to do that through its new marketing push.
Among the focuses will be the Japan visitor market. With the Japanese economy still in an economic slump and the outlook for the yen exchange rate bleak, the bureau said it is attempting reinvent its relationship with eastbound visitors.
Visitor arrivals from Japan bottomed-out in late October and early November, but recovered to about 80 percent of 2001 by mid-February, said Chris Kam, the bureau's director for market trends.
The length of stay for Japanese visitors is also on the rise, Vericella said. The bureau predicted that visitor days would rise to 90 percent of 2001 by the second quarter and 108 percent of 2001 by the third quarter (which the bureau qualified would be about 95 percent of 2000, a much stronger year).
Even so, estimates put the Japanese market ahead of 2000 by the fourth quarter of this year.
Though this does not directly translate to increased visitor spending, this outlook was more positive than many in the visitor industry have seen since Sept. 11.
The bureau's new approach in Japan includes highlighting the opinions of people who have visited Hawai'i to assure potential travelers that it is safe, an approach the bureau believes has more "merit" than typical advertising.
All promotions are centered around the idea that Hawai'i is "OK now." More energy is also being spent emphasizing specific activities, such as sporting events.
"They need a special reason to come to Hawai'i," said Kiyoshi Mukumoto, vice president of the Japan market for the bureau.
To regain the Japanese wedding market, a direct-mail campaign targeted parents of potential brides and grooms, assuring them "not to worry," said Mukumoto.
As a result of the Super Value Hawaii campaign, Mukumoto said, 89 Japanese wholesalers and travel agents asked HVCB for permission to use the logo in their own promotions. Consequently, the Value Pass will be extended until the fall for the Japanese market only.
For worldwide marketing opportunities, Vericella said Hawai'i's partnership with Disney in the animated film "Lilo and Stitch," scheduled for release in June, will offer potential. The film takes place on Kaua'i, features voices of entertainers from Hawai'i, and focuses on the concept of 'ohana.
"Disney is doing things to promote the film differently from anything in the past," Vericella said.
Vericella cited a global launch, marketing tie-ins with chains like McDonalds and heavy advertising centered around a family theme — a link that Hawai'i can expand on.
After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, people are placing more value on family, friends and special relationships. Vericella said that he believes Disney will invest "nine digits or higher" in the multi-faceted marketing of this film over the next few years through video, DVD and sequels.
On the meetings, conventions and incentives side, HVCB's Sandra Moreno said the goal for 2002 is to book 50 conventions with 400,000 room nights.
Two significant meetings scheduled include the Society of American Travel Writers from Oct. 28 to Nov.2 and the American Society of Travel Agents World Congress, Nov. 3-8. For the latter, the bureau expects 6,000 attendees, 4,000 of whom are travel agents. Both groups also will travel to Neighbor Islands.
Because the bureau's annual leisure marketing budget is limited to $39 million, North American specialist David Preece said, it will focus on very specific markets in certain seasons. For instance, the bureau's message will permeate a particular marketplace three to six months before peak travel periods. It also will spend more energy in markets that offer nonstop or direct air service to Hawai'i.
