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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Next stop on visitors campaign: California

Advertiser Staff

In a bid to boost visitor arrivals, the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau and industry partners hit the the road again today, 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, today through Friday. Next week — May 29 to 31 — the group will be in 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," an HVCB news release stated.

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 Hawai'i at the Meetings Market Academy + Exhibition trade show in Tampa, Fla., today.

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 who book annual conferences and incentive events.

The trips are the latest forays this year by tourism officials to the Mainland and abroad to promote the state's No. 1 industry.

A group of 30 Hawai'i tourism and trade specialists last month went to New York City and Los Angeles to promote Waikiki and recent improvements at the beachfront resort. The road show included musical entertainment by Jake Shimabukuro, 3 Scoops of Aloha and Waikiki Nei as well as a new acrobat show being introduced at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center.

In February, state tourism marketers HVCB and Hawai'i Tourism Oceania led a sales team to promote Hawai'i corporate meetings and incentives in Australia.