Tourism marketers to meet here

By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer

The new marketing agencies that will promote Hawai'i internationally as a visitor destination will be in Honolulu next week to discuss contract terms with the Hawai'i Tourism Authority.

The tourism authority decided in July to split up its marketing contract, taking away about a third of the marketing agreement that the Hawai'i Visitors & Convention Bureau long held.

Marketing deals, worth about $34 million, are being divided among several agencies.

The new contractors are Tokyo advertising agency Dentsu Inc., to market Hawai'i in Japan under a contract worth about $6.3 million; another Japanese agency, Marketing Garden, to market Hawai'i to the rest of Asia for about $850,000; The Mangum Group, to promote Hawai'i to Europe for about $750,000; and The Walshe Group in New Zealand, which will be awarded a contract of less than $500,000, to cover Oceania.

Negotiations are going on separately with the HVCB, which will continue to market the state to North American visitors under a contract worth about $15.2 million. The bureau also will promote Hawai'i for corporate meetings and incentives trips under a contract valued at roughly $1.4 million.

The values of the agreements are early estimates and final numbers are to be negotiated. The authority and its contractors also will need to agree on such major issues as performance accountability and oversight, said authority marketing director Frank Haas.

Following a critical state audit of HVCB, state legislators and officials said contractors should be held to high standards in spending and accounting for state money.

At the HVCB, Tony Vericella resigned as president last month after the audit revealed questionable and inappropriate expenditures.

In meetings next week, contractors will be briefing the tourism authority's board members and others in the visitor industry about their "view of the markets," Haas said.

The tourism authority board is then expected to review final terms of the contracts at an October meeting. The agreements could be signed soon after they are approved, taking effect on Jan. 1.

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