Gathering of executives could boost visitor industry

By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer

A meeting of association executives will offer a chance to showcase Hawai'i as a top destination for conventions such as the American Society of Travel Agents. Advertiser library photo

The American Society of Association Executives is coming to Hawai'i for its annual meeting Saturday through Aug. 26, bringing group leaders from around the country who make decisions about where to hold meetings and conventions.

More than 3,500 are expected to attend the event, including association executives and exhibitors from other convention centers and travel industry companies.

Attendance will be down from previous gatherings. Organizers originally projected Hawai'i would attract 5,000, but fewer exhibitors signed up this year, possibly because of the display shipping costs. About 5,800 attended last year's meeting in Denver.

Hawai'i Convention Center management and marketing agency SMG estimates the four-day meeting will bring in $10.5 million of visitor spending to the state and about $885,000 in tax revenue.

Hawai'i meeting industry leaders will try to convince the association leaders that Hawai'i is the place for meetings and conventions. They're hoping to claim a bigger slice of the estimated $102 billion a year meetings and conventions industry.

Hawai'i will have home-team advantage over convention center officials from other cities, and it will also be an opportunity for all meeting planners to scout out what the competition is up to.

"This is a key opportunity for the state and the convention center to showcase what we can do and demonstrate that you can do business in Hawai'i," said Joe Davis, convention center general manager.

If they're successful, SMG estimates the conference could lead to as much as $1.3 billion in future convention business.

ASAE has about 25,000 members representing 10,000 associations serving more than 287 million people and companies. Its purpose is to advance the value of voluntary associations and to support those who lead them.

There are more than 147,000 associations nationwide.

Associations expected to be represented include the American Bar Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Million Dollar Round Table.

More than half of those attending are expected to be association executives, while others are exhibitors or association members. ASAE says that in past years about 20 percent of delegates book conventions in the host city within five years.

Conventions and business meetings are often scheduled four to six years in advance.

A host committee is working to impress the convention delegates with airport banners, welcome buttons, and other efforts.

Delegates will be invited to entertainment activities such as a replica of the Polynesian Cultural Center created at Fort DeRussy and a concert at the Waikiki Shell by Kool & the Gang. Some will also be invited to a reception at the governor's mansion.

Mike Murray, sales director for corporate meetings and incentives for the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau, calls the meeting an opportunity to change perceptions about Hawai'i. HVCB is putting about $40,000 in the event.

"We're very excited," Murray said, calling it an opportunity "to really demonstrate why Hawai'i is a world-class meeting and convention destination."

HVCB along with about 35 companies will be selling Hawai'i as a meeting place with a giant pavilion at the exhibit hall. Many hotels and tourism businesses are also offering discounts for tours on other islands.

In the past HVCB has been able to generate more than 100 leads through ASAE, Murray said, and they expect more this year. Typically about 38 percent translate into bookings, he said.

Red Cavaney, president and chief executive of the American Petroleum Institute and ASAE's board chairman, said Hawai'i has positioned itself for new business through the convention. "I think that there's some great potential here for Hawai'i," he said.

Reach Kelly Yamanouchi at 535-2470, or at kyamanouchi@honoluluadvertiser.com.