Hawai i TOURISM OCEANIA UPDATE

Transcription

1 Q3 RePORT Hawai i TOURISM OCEANIA UPDATE Hawai i Tourism Authority s recent Hawai i Tourism Conference provided a great opportunity for Oceania to engage with Hawai i s travel industry. Darragh and Ashlee represented Hawai i Tourism Oceania at the conference, along with a delegation of key industry partners who participated in the Shirtsleeve Sessions. The Hawai i Tourism Conference was a perfect springboard towards our 2015 marketing programs and we appreciated all of the interaction, feedback and inspiration that our trade partners provided. Our current year continues to trend positively with Oceania visitor arrivals to Hawai i up 6.3% through the Jan-Jul year. That equates to just on 200,000 passengers! Our forecasts and KPI s will see this trend continue through 2015, where we just might see a record 400,000 Australia and New Zealand arrivals achieved. We appreciate everyone s support, we cannot do it without you! OCEANIA VISITOR STATISTICS Visitor Arrivals Jan-Jul 2014 YTD Apr Visitor Arrivals % change Australia 164, % New Zealand 34, % Total Oceania 199, % New Zealand continues to see significant growth with both Air New Zealand and Hawaiian Airlines operating in the market. It is very pleasing to see a 44.1% increase! Australia has maintained visitor arrivals year-to-date, increasing slightly by 0.8%. This is a great achievement, taking into consideration that overall airlift decreased in the Jan-Jul 2014 period vs

2 MARKET UPDATE The Australian dollar hit a 2 month low during the month of August (USD0.91). The New Zealand dollar dipped below a key resistance level (USD0.85) following a continued slide in dairy prices. These exchange rates are still regarded as a high value for both Australian and New Zealand travellers. Wotif Group announced an agreement that will see Expedia acquire 100% of the listed Australian OTA (Online Travel Agency). This takeover heralds a new era for online travel services, by joining forces these two travel behemoths will form a dynamic duo with the potential to transform how Aussies research, book and manage their holidays. According to recent Roy Morgan research Solo Travellers are the only segment that has grown in the last decade. Solo Travellers are increasingly moving away from the young backpacker market and towards the more mature empty-nesters. B2B wholesaler Excite Holidays is reporting a 140% increase in bookings for apartment and villa style accommodation in the past 12 months. Also Booking.com revealed a penchant by Australian travellers toward non-hotel lodging such as self-contained apartments and B&B s. Independent Travel Group now has 12 fully branded italktravel outlets, with 23 rolling out nationwide by the end of September, complementing the group s 228 existing members. The group is targeting 100 italktravel stores across Australia by the end of the year. ITG are holding their annual forum in Honolulu from November, HTO are looking forward to showcasing Hawai i through the sponsoring of their Welcome Night event. Qantas confirmed it will upgrade aircraft operating between Sydney and Honolulu from Dec as passenger volumes to Hawai i continue to soar. Effective 20 Dec, Qantas will boost frequencies to HNL from the current three per week to four, while switching aircraft from its aging Boeing 767s to ex-jetstar Airbus A330s. The shuffle will result in an extra 253 seats per week on the route. In addition Qantas will make seasonal adjustments and add a fifth weekly service when demand is high, such as during school holidays and at Easter. Hawai i is set to become Jetstar s 10th Boeing 787 route. Jetstar operates six services a week from Sydney to Honolulu and three services a week from Melbourne using Airbus A330s. It will add three flights a week from December 18. The Sydney service will convert to 787s from February 19 as the airline rolls out the new plane. HTO NEWS Mike McCartney visits Australia (15-18 Sep) Mike McCartney, CEO and President of Hawai i Tourism Authority, has been asked to speak at the Destination Q (Tourism Queensland) Conference in Noosa, Australia and will take part in a panel session on the subject of Growing your tourism destination. As part of this visit Down Under, HTO are hosting a special Networking Brunch in Sydney where our key industry partners will have a chance to meet and mingle with Mike McCartney, along with our Hawai i Tourism Authority Brand Manager for Oceania, Mike Story. 2

3 TRADE ACTIVITIES HTA Conference & VIP Famil (26-30 Aug) HTO attended the recent HTA Hawai i Tourism Conference along with Australian and New Zealand representatives from GO Holidays, House of Travel, Our Pacific, Travel Today, CI Events, Creative Holidays, Helloworld, Hoot Holidays, MyHawai i, Pinpoint Travel Group and Hawaiian Airlines. HTO organised a Welcome Dinner at Nobu Waikīkī and a Networking Cocktail Reception at the Moana Surfrider as part of this VIP Famil experience. As part of the Hawai i Tourism Conference Ashlee was interviewed on Hawai i News Now to talk about the steady growth of Australian and New Zealand visitors to Hawai i and increase in air seats. To view the interview visit Hawai i News Now Flight Centre Brisbane Destination Training (30 Jul) HTO gave Hawai i destination training in Brisbane to 50 Flight Centre Travel Agents, in preparation for the weekends Flight Centre Discover The America s Expo. Giving an overview of the six unique islands and explaining the type of customers best suited to each destination, re-enforcing a multi-island Hawaiian holiday. HTO also proved some top tips when selling the Hawaiian Islands. Independent Travel Group (ITG) Business Forum Hawai i (13-16 Nov) We are pleased to sponsor the upcoming ITG Welcome Night for their Business Forum giving HTO naming rights to the event, sponsorship acknowledgement throughout the program, branding, primary signage, opportunity to provide promotional items to guests, enhance theming and highlight Hawaiian culture via entertainment on the night. Ashlee and Holly are attending the retail conference in Hawai I and will promote Hawai i s six islands to delegates during the Aloha Marketplace. This is great opportunity to showcase our destination to over 140 travel professionals (mainly owner/managers) within the ITG retail network. 3

4 CONSUMER ACTIVITIES Social Media Shopping Campaign (1-30 Aug) Australian travellers love to shop and with the Australian dollar remaining strong, shopping continues to be one of the most popular activities for Australians visiting the Hawaiian Islands. HTO launched a Facebook contest in conjunction with Hawaiian Airlines and Ala Moana Shopping Center to give away a shopping holiday in O ahu. This campaign was great driver to encourage visitation. The contest celebrates HA s Shopping Passport that allows 2 x 32kg checked-in luggage allowance, a significant selling point for shoppers. It also promoted the other niches that appeal to the Australian consumer by including an extra activity in the prize package. The entrant had a choice of one of the four activities golf, surf, culture and cuisine. The contest was a great success, increasing engagement on our social media channels. Fans shared their shopping photos on the Aloha DownUnder Facebook page and the competition went viral. Total views: 42,150 Total enteries: 12,450 Facebook likes : 9,750 Facebook shares : 9,330 Flight Centre Discover The America s Expo SYD (27 Jul, 3 & 10 Aug) Vanessa, Charis and Ashlee attended the Flight Centre Discover The America s in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, supporting the Hawaiian Airlines stand. Around 23,000 consumers attended the expos. HTO engaged with consumers about Hawai i, promoting HA s return airfare from $959 inc. tax and handing out Hawaiian Islands highlight maps to encourage customers to explore the neighbor islands. HA s stand was one of the most popular in the expo. There was great consumer interest particularly around honeymoons, family holidays and cruises. Hawai i Island Standalone Promotion (Jul-Sep) New Zealand is currently seeing a Hawai i Island standalone promotion thanks to an extra investment by the Big Island Visitors Bureau in co-operation with GO Holidays and Harvey World Travel. The promotion includes the production of a Hawai i Island brochure along with advertising that showcases Hawai i Island as the principle destination. 4

5 PUBLIC RELATIONS HIGHLIGHTS The Living Room TV Show (20 Jun) The second story filmed by Network 10 s primetime lifestyle program The Living Room went to air on Friday the 20th of June where Dr Chris Brown travelled to the worlds hottest travel destination Hawai i s Kilauea Volcano. Chris was on a mission to get as close to molten lava as possible and took a ride in an open chopper to check out the lava. This segment was also promoted across news and online media and social media channels and then to follow on The Living Room website with a picture gallery and online factsheet. Audience 654,000 Total AVE- $931,752 Escape, Newslimited (29 Jul) Angela Saurine had her second story on Hawai i published nationally in Escape, the Sunday travel magazine in Newslimited newspapers. The story highlighted Oahu s outdoor adventures and food experiences beyond Waikiki. Readership - 5 million Total AVE - $1,826,636 Marie Claire Magazine (1 Aug) In July Lee Tulloch had a number of stories published including highlights of her stay at Shipman House in Hilo and trip to Hawai i Volcanoes National Park in Fairfax Newspapers Saturday Traveller, but also Marie Claire magazine where she wrote about travelling to Hawai i island for new adventures and a bit of luxury at Four Seasons Hualalai. Readership - 503,000 Total AVE - $468,122 Luxury Travel Magazine (1 Jul) Gary Allen from Luxury Travel Magazine not only sought out some of the best in luxury hotels and resorts on Maui, Lana i and O ahu but also looked beyond the resort experience to discover the vast array of outdoor activities that these islands have to offer. Readership - 100,000 Total AVE - $105,045 5

6 MCI UPDATE HTO had their strongest month year-to-date in the month of July, in terms of generating new sales leads with a massive 17 RFPs which equated to over 16,000 room nights. We are actively working the market and following up with our clients, with the MCI business outlook looking promising for Hawai i. Hawai i MCI Event in Melbourne In August HTO in conjunction with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Hawaiian Airlines and Maui Jim hosted an inaugural Hawai i MCI Event in Melbourne. We were thrilled to host just over 40 quality clients. There is strong interest for the Hawaiian Islands from Melbourne and we were delighted to connect with the market and further showcase what our destination can offer for meetings and events. Should you have any questions regarding the MCI market, please feel free to contact Holly Ballard (Australia) or Megan Hornblow (New Zealand). PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES Content required for Meet Hawai i E-newsletter HTO would like to offer you the opportunity to feature in our quarterly Meet Hawai i E-newsletter which will be sent to our MCI database (850+ MCI industry personnel). We re looking to you for news, updates, incentives or simply a brief description on what your organisation can offer for the Meetings, Conferences and Incentives market. For the submission template please contact Holly Ballard, hballard@hawaiitourism.com.au by 21 November. Investing in New Zealand In part two of this section, Darragh from the HTO NZ office profiles Islandtime Magazine who are a bimonthly glossy trade publication which is distributed to 4,000+ travel industry readers nationwide. HTO support the Hawai i content in the publication, and it is HTO s recommended Glossy Travel Trade Publication for New Zealand. If anyone is interested in advertising then contact Fran McDermott, fmcdermott@xtra.co.nz Opportunities to Partner For the complete overview of current Opportunities to Partner in the Oceania market, please visit our Ohana website and download the PDF file from the homepage. UPCOMING ACTIVITIES Visit USA Newcastle & Wollongong Training Sessions 16 & 23 Sep The Knot Hawai i Romance Campaign 1-31 Oct Helloworld Owner Managers Conference in LA 2-4 Oct Experience Aloha 2014 NCL Pride of America Famil Nov Hawai i Family Guide release and promotion Sep Mamamia Hawai i Family campaign and competition 1-30 Nov Island Chapters New Zealand sales visit Dec 6