Traditional international markets for Hawaii include Canada, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. Before COVID the Hawaii Tourism Authority had put a lot of cards in what they at that time thought were high-spending Chinese markets.
Due to COVID-19 combined with political difficulties, this market is now dead. Indian weddings, or promoting Hawaii in the Gulf region is still not happening, but Europe is back on the agenda. It’s not clear what the budget for this is and the return expected, but HTA welcomed PR and marketing representation in Europe, the UK, and Germany.
Germans are known to like responsible tourism, and this appears to be the highest priority for HTA. With the Malama Hawaii campaign, the State-run entity running the largest industry in the state only wants to attract trained responsible tourists who love culture more than beaches.
Hawaiʻi Tourism Europe, Emotive Travel Marketing (ETM) Ltd , will represent the Hawaiian Islands in the United Kingdom. ETM Group’s counterpart in Europe, New Age Marketing , will be responsible for the German and Swiss markets.
The two-year partnership commenced on January 1, 2024. This marks a significant milestone as the Hawaiian Islands work to re-establish the destination’s presence, educate visitors about traveling mindfully to support Hawai‘i’s communities, build strategic partnerships, and achieve meaningful growth in the UK and European markets.
In the wake of the Maui wildfires, welcoming European travelers back to Hawaiʻi is an important part of ensuring tourism’s contributions to Maui’s recovery.
“HTA is eager to rejuvenate our longstanding relationships in Europe and support this strengthening visitor source market to help drive economic recovery for Hawai‘i,” said Daniel Nāho‘opi‘i, HTA’s Interim President and CEO. “We are pleased to welcome Emotive Travel Marketing and New Age Marketing to our team as they commence the critical work ahead.”
HTA’s decision to select Emotive Travel Marketing underscores their confidence in ETM to effectively promote the diverse offerings of the Hawaiian Islands to European travelers.
ETM is well-positioned to fulfill HTA’s goals of encouraging mindful visitation and expenditures, extending the length of stay, and captivating the imagination of travelers with the luxurious, adventurous, culturally rich, and heritage-infused experiences that Hawai‘i has to offer, all against the stunning backdrop of its natural beauty.
“We are delighted to represent the Hawaiian Islands as Hawaiʻi Tourism Europe in the UK & Europe with a very experienced and passionate team leading the account. We are excited to be working with such an incredible destination and have hit the ground running with re-engaging the travel trade and media and developing compelling campaigns that will connect consumers with the Hawaiian Islands and their culture,” said Fleur Sainsbury, Director of ETM and UK Account Manager for Hawai‘i.
Katharina Dorr will oversee all three European markets — UK, Germany, and Switzerland — as the Account Director of Hawai‘i Tourism Europe.
(eTN):Wanted by Hawaii Tourism: Mindful European Visitors | re-post license | post content