Updated at 12:00 p.m., Monday, May 21, 2007
Tourism group heads to California to drum up business
Advertiser Staff
In a move to boost sagging visitor arrivals, the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau and industry partners hit the the road again tomorrow, this time selling the state to corporate and incentive meeting planners in California.The Hawai'i group will make sales and marketing presentations in San Diego, Orange County and Los Angeles from today through Friday. The following week — May 29-31 — the group heads to northern California for regional sales presentations in San Jose, San Francisco, and Sacramento.
Joining the bureau on the sales blitz are representatives from: Aloha Airlines, Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows, Prince Resorts Hawaii, The Fairmont Orchid Hawaii, The Kahala Hotel & Resort, and Turtle Bay Resort.
They will focus on selling Hawai'i's assets and multicultural diversity to about "20 to 30 A-list meeting planners per day."
The California blitz is organized by Cheryl Fernandez-Louie, HVCB's Western regional director of accounts.
"We're reaching out to major producers in our biggest California markets to convey the value of a Hawai'i meeting for both clients and exhibitors," Fernandez-Louie said.
The bureau will also be marketing Hawaii at the Meetings Market Academy + Exhibition tradeshow in Tampa, Florida, tomorrow.
In Florida, the emphasis will be the state's range of business meeting attributes and networking with meeting professionals based in south Florida. Those attending are expected to be key decision-makers that book annual conferences and incentive events.
