Seminar to focus on festivals

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Staff Writer

The state's tourism marketing agency wants to give repeat visitors to the Islands more reason to return by increasing the number and appeal of festivals.

This week, the Hawai'i Tourism Authority is holding a seminar for groups that put on festivals and events to help them improve their activities and better market their programs to visitors.

Repeat visitors "want exciting cultural things, they want to explore the communities, and so what we're trying to do is tie these kinds of community activities with the visitor," said Muriel Anderson, HTA's director of tourism programs.

The seminar, which comes at a time when Hawai'i's tourism industry is setting monthly visitor and hotel records, will focus on seeking sponsorships, building brand identity, and marketing and capitalizing on travel trends.

The HTA is spending $1.2 million this year to support about a dozen festivals, including Kaua'i's Koloa Plantation Days Celebration, the Maui Film Festival, the Pan-Pacific Festival, and the Filipino Centennial Celebration. HTA also gave each of the counties $475,000 to support community activities.

Events and festivals are special because they rely on the ability to bring together an entire community, including volunteers, corporations, government and the media, said Steve Schmader, president and CEO of the International Festivals and Events Association, who will speak at the seminar.

They're also an effective way to help a community develop its own identity, he said.

"As the world gets smaller we're all going to need calling cards to tell people who we are," Schmader said. "And I believe for communities, festivals and events are those calling cards.

"I'm sure lots of people come to Hawai'i and lay on the beach and have a great time, but if you really want to understand more about each community, I tell people go to what the people there celebrate because that usually will center around their culture or their heritage, an agricultural product that is very important to them or some sort of historical happening."

And when it comes to attracting visitors who stay longer and spend more, festivals and events are "the perfect tool," Schmader said.

"The people who attend events typically tend to be higher spenders," he said. "They're not trying to put everything in a backpack and make it by on $2 a day. They are coming with the intent to experience things and they enjoy that.

"Festivals and events tend to draw families, couples, groups of friends" and encourages visitors to extend their stay, he said.

But the challenge with festivals and events is not only making sure they're creative and different, but keeping them fresh and interesting for repeat visitors, Schmader said.

Festival and event planners can also look into creating packages with other events if the dates are close enough, Schmader said. Visitors coming here for one event may consider staying longer if they can also attend other festivals on the Islands, he said.

Speakers at the seminar include Laurie Lang, a branding consultant and former Senior Vice President of Brand Management and Strategic Marketing for The Walt Disney Company; Ira Rosen, officer of the International Festivals and Events Association; and Rozita Lee, a Las Vegas festival organizer and former Vice President of the Nevada Economic Development Company.

Local speakers include Guy Kaulukukui, former Bishop Museum vice president of cultural studies; Meredith Ching, vice president for Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.; and Elizabeth Johnson, managing director of travel industry partnerships for the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 535-2470.