HONOLULU -- As global instability leads to an increased interest in domestic travel, Hawaii is in a prime position to attract more tourists -- if it takes the necessary steps to increase its brand visibility.
So say the leaders of four wholesale operators selling the Islands: David Hu, CEO of A|T Collective and Pleasant Holidays; Katrin Koenig, chief commercial officer at Delta Vacations; Melissa Krueger, CEO of Classic Vacations; and Ray Snisky, group president of ALG Vacations, who spoke during an April 21 panel at Travel Weekly's Hawaii Leadership Forum. Editor in chief Johanna Jainchill and Northstar Travel Group's Mary Pat Sullivan moderated the conversation.
The four panelists acknowledged the challenges facing the Islands, which have yet to return to prepandemic visitor levels. Just one day before the panel, news broke that the PGA Tour would remove its tournaments from the state.
Natural disasters, such as the 2023 Maui wildfires and last month's Kona storms, have further dampened demand. And cuts to the Hawaii Tourism Authority's budget over the past few years -- which funds tourism and marketing initiatives across the state -- have limited the destination's ability to reach potential travelers.
The HTA's budget currently sits at $63 million, far below other U.S. destinations that rely heavily on tourism, such as Las Vegas ($457.5 million) and Florida ($86 million), according to reporting in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
"I didn't fly 10 hours just to say everything's perfect here," Snisky said. "Here in Hawaii, it's probably the highest ADR destination of mass-market scale that we serve, and there's always issues on the budget, and always issues on money being cut [from HTA]."
The discussion also focused on a letter sent by the four suppliers to Hawaii Gov. Josh Green last November, urging him to increase funding and marketing efforts to the state.
"I just felt like we could land a unified voice from outside that could help drive some momentum," Hu said. "And from my understanding, we got some good attention, and the governor does fully understand that there needs to be more funding, but they still work with the politics of it all."
Hawaii isn't going to sell itself, he added.
"We know how beautiful Hawaii is, but the rest of the country needs to know what a beautiful place this is," Hu said.
"We, as an industry, wanted to be a voice to help carry that and to push that out. All four of us signed the letter saying there needs to be consistent funding so we can help you guys bring the demand here."
Snisky added that the four operators were in a position to voice what many of the 300 Hawaii Forum attendees -- 70% of whom are based in Hawaii -- may not be able to.
"If the governor is mad at me, my day tomorrow doesn't change at all," he said. "It was really [from] a standpoint of believing in this destination."
A surge in domestic bookings
All four panelists also reported an increased interest in domestic destinations this year.
It's a shift that could equate to more opportunities for Hawaii, Koenig said.
"The time is right, and I've been saying, 'This is the year of Hawaii,'" she said. "It's a really good opportunity to go in and heighten the message."
As other destinations reel from the effect of geopolitical events, the Islands can use the news cycle as a way to gain an edge over competitors, Snisky said.
"[With] the war, Europe has felt a little softness, and Mexico has certainly had challenges," he said. "Now is the time to really be aggressive and go out there, get that customer and flip the script. We should be pushing all of our chips in the middle of the table right now, when there's this uncertainty in some of these other destinations."
Consistent messaging is also key, Koenig said, naming Aruba's sustainability strategy and Jamaica's Hurricane Melissa recovery communications as examples.
Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic is "probably the most aggressive tourism group out there" when it comes to marketing, Snisky said, noting that 18% of all the U.S. tourists flying into the country from the U.S. are ALG Vacations' clients.
"They're hosting big events on a regular basis, and they're spending millions of dollars in promoting and collaborating," he said.
"And the reality is, the D.R. was never synonymous with luxury, ever," Krueger added. "And the fact that they have been able to create demand, through the vehicle of marketing ... is pretty amazing. But we're not too far off from being able to bring that back [here]."
HVCB's new campaign
Hu and Snisky also mentioned they have high hopes for Aaron Sala, who joined the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau in September 2024 as CEO, and they are looking forward to the success of its newest campaign, "Hawaii Stays With You."
"HVCB looked at their last campaign, the [2021] Malama campaign, and said, 'You know what, that didn't exactly work the way we wanted it to,'" Hu said. "And they came out with a brand new campaign, and they really want to push it out there."
"I have high hopes that Aaron is going to … create some clarity, because I think when you have clarity, it creates energy," Snisky added. "But we just haven't collaborated as an industry as well as we can. I think there's room for us to improve."