Game show to feature Hawai'i trips
By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer
Hawai'i takes the spotlight as a dream vacation prize on the "Wheel of Fortune" game show in the first week of February.
Advertiser Library photo • Jan. 14, 1996
TV's "Wheel of Fortune," seen by 18 million U.S. viewers each evening and 100 million weekly viewers worldwide, is holding a sweepstakes for trips to Hawai'i during its "Aloha Week" Feb. 2-6.
"Wheel of Fortune" plans to give away Hawai'i vacations during the week of Feb. 2 through Pleasant Holidays.
Up to five contestants and five audience members will win trips with tour package seller Pleasant Holidays. Viewers can enter the sweepstakes that week at the show's Web site at www.wheeloffortune.com.
The marketing boost from the show could be significant for the state. Mainland viewers struck in the middle of a cold winter may be strongly drawn to the images of sunny Hawai'i beaches, just as the lure of the Islands works its magic during the Pro Bowl in February.
"Wheel of Fortune" is tremendously popular. The demographics behind it are "absolutely right on ... perfect," said Pleasant Holidays spokesman Les Gargan.
Each night will feature a different Starwood hotel in Hawai'i, including the Royal Hawaiian, the Kapalua Bay Hotel, Sheraton Kauai, Sheraton Moana Surfrider and the Manele Bay Hotel.
Because the promotion features higher-end Starwood hotels, vacation tour company expects to attract mostly upscale travelers, the fastest-growing segment of Pleasant Holidays' business, Gargan said. Pleasant's upscale category of business grew 30 percent in 2003 compared with the year earlier.
Reach Kelly Yamanouchi at 535-2470 or kyamanouchi@honoluluadvertiser.com.
