The Meet Hawai‘i Roadshow kicked off in Melbourne earlier this week then travelled to Brisbane, ending in Sydney Thursday night.
Hawai‘i Tourism Oceania (HTO), in partnership with Hawaiian Airlines, wrapped up the inaugural Meet Hawai‘i Roadshow in Sydney last night with a networking cocktail reception which followed a day of workshops and one on one appointments with operators from Hawai‘i.
This series of events designed for MICE industry professionals gave attendees the chance to gain in-depth destination and product training on the Hawaiian Islands and one lucky person from each event won a trip to travel to Hawai‘i to experience it for themselves– (see below for Sydney winner.)
Holly Ballard, MCI Account Manager HTO, Ashley Partridge, Directions Conference and Incentive Management who won the major prize; Lawrence Sattrukalsinghe National Business Development Manager, Hawaiian Airlines and Ashlee Galea, Country Manager HTO.
Industry professionals dined on a Hawaiian inspired menu and were entertained by Hawaiian musicians, Nick and Kuki from Kumola Foundation, whilst discovering some hidden wonders of the Islands.
“Hawai‘i offers a diverse range of accommodation, activities and attractions across the six beautiful islands of Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Hawai‘i Island so we are very excited to have a representative from each of the Island Chapters along with twelve industry partners and the Hawai‘i Convention Center joining us for the Meet Hawai‘i Roadshow. Participants had “speed-dates” with MICE industry partners from Hawai‘i and our Island Chapter representatives took them on a visual and informative journey through the Hawaiian Islands.”
Holly Ballard, Account Manager, Meetings, Conferences & Incentives, Hawai‘i Tourism Oceania
The timing for the workshops couldn’t be better for the MICE industry with Hawai‘i’s appeal to travellers worldwide continuing to grow. With this increase in popularity, it is fast becoming a highly sought after destination for meetings, incentives conferences and events.
Sane Event Group’s Gena Rorke, Veronique Grigoriadis and Anne Kelly along with Halekulani’s Geoff Pearson.
CC Conferences & Corporate Events’ David Dymmott and Rebecca Rodger along with Maui Jim’s Nick Maynard and cievents.com’s Caroline Gair.
HTO see a big opportunity for growth in this sector with an increased capacity in air seats over the last three years, with direct and more frequent services out of the 3 ports of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.