Posted on: Tuesday, November 9, 2004
Golf Channel to help promote state's courses
By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Staff Writer
Tourism officials are hoping to attract more golfers to the Islands with a campaign that highlights Hawai'i and its golf courses for four weeks in January on The Golf Channel.
Advertiser library photo • January 2004 "Hawai'i-themed golf programming will be jam-packed around these four pro golf events that tee off the year," HVCB president and CEO John Monahan said yesterday.
The channel will air more than 100 hours of programming, highlighted by 50 hours of live broadcasts, all aimed at elevating Hawai'i's profile as a golf destination and luring more golfers to the Islands. About 100 promotional spots begin next week.
Golfers are valuable to the visitor industry because they tend to stay longer and spend more than the average tourist. They also participate in additional activities during visits, including snorkeling, sightseeing, going to the beach and shopping.
Golfers make up about 15 percent of the nearly 7 million visitors to Hawai'i, and officials would like to see that number increase, said Jay Talwar, HVCB's vice president of marketing.
Nearly all golfers watch golf on television, and 81 percent of those who do say it influences their vacation destination decision, Talwar said.
The Golf Channel will air video features, vignettes and commercial lead-ins, including PGA Tour pros participating in visitor activities in Hawai'i. On-air commentators will wear aloha attire, and programs will include Hawaiian music. Hawai'i-based golf pros and PGA Tour players will provide tips and information about Hawai'i golf courses.
NBC sports golf analyst and Golf Hawaii host Mark Rolfing, who was key in working with HVCB on the program, said the impact will be "phenomenal" and that the program will give the state a chance to showcase all of Hawai'i golf, not just the events.
By the end of this year The Golf Channel will be broadcast in nearly 70 million homes in the U.S. It also airs in Canada, Asia, United Kingdom and Scandinavia.
The HVCB is spending $200,000 on the program, Monahan said.
"It is HVCB's intention to use this tremendous platform of great courses, great weather, the aloha season's six tournaments, and the diverse visitor experience that's available in the state to build the Hawai'i golf brand beyond the Aloha season and to create the awareness that will generate demand for the Hawai'i golf experience 365 days a year," said Monahan. "The Aloha Swing is a major step in beginning to build this awareness and demand."
Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 535-2470.
"Aloha Swing," a program in partnership between the channel and the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau, will surround coverage of the PGA Tour's Mercedes Championship on Maui and Sony Open on O'ahu, as well as the Champions Tour's MasterCard Championship on the Big Island and Turtle Bay Championship on O'ahu.
Stuart Appleby follows through on his drive from the 18th tee during the final round of the 2004 Mercedes Championship at the Kapalua Resort's Plantation course on Maui, the first PGA event of the year.
