The Hawaii Visitors and Conventions Bureau (HVCB) is one of the largest U.S. Convention and Visitors Bureaus. It is a nonprofit organization working with Hawaii Tourism Authority and its sole purpose is to promote islands of Hawaii to the travelers (HVCB organization).
Hawaii is well known as one of the most world-wide vacation destinations. Tourism is the largest industry in Hawaii and a mainstay of its economies. More than 6 million tourists visit the Hawaiian Islands annually (HVCB organization). The fact that huge numbers of tourists are attracted to this place is because of the breathtaking natural beauty as well as the special events that occur here such as the Honolulu Marathon and Aloha Festival. Therefore, HVCB represents the islands of Hawaii.
The objective of HVCB is to achieve optimal balance of visitor’s frequency (i.e. first time and repeat), source market diversity, seasonality and dual brand Hawaii, “an ultimate gathering place for business meetings, conventions and incentives”(HVCB organization). The various marketing programs that are used by HBCV are:
- Broadcast and Print Advertising
- Emerging Affinity Media
- E-Marketing
- Ties with Signature Events
- Television and Film Programming
- Multi-Media Collateral (Six Languages)
- Market-Based Promotions
- Media "Tie-Ups"
- Public Relations and Communications
- Travel Distribution System
According to Shoko Sugihara’s report of 1998, HVCB (1997 b) chose three marketing plans: Direct marketing, participating trade shows, and promoting tours before and after the conventions. There were three traditional marketing methods: Database marketing to identify potential attendees, telemarketing to persuade potential attendees to come, and promotion assistance to let them involve in the city (Ghitelman, 1996, p.39).
Barbara Okamoto, HVCB's director of market trends said, “The strategy of reminding people that they always wanted to visit Hawaii is different from what mainland destinations are doing” (Howard Dicus, February 22, 2002)............
