Travel Agents are still the preferred way for Australians to book a holiday to Hawaii, according to Hawaii Tourism Oceania’s latest statistics.
Revealed at a Sydney media launch of the bureau’s annual Aloha Down Under roadshow, some 64 percent of Aussies use consultants when arranging their trip to the destination. That’s more than twice the rate of the 27 percent of Aussies booking other long haul trips.
Hawaii Tourism Oceania’s Country Manager Australia, Kerri Anderson, described it as an amazing figure and said it emphasised the importance of agents in a digital age.
“Six out of 10 Australians still go to a Travel Agent. That’s amazing.”
Kerri Anderson, Hawaii Tourism Oceania’s Country Manager Australia
“It shows how importance agents are to travellers and for us.
“It’s no surprise that being able to walk into or call a travel agency and say ‘I want to go to Hawai’i’ and know that everything is taken care of certainly cuts down on pre-holiday stress.”
The bureau’s latest figures also found that around 400,000 Australians travelled to Hawaii last year, a six percent increase over the last six years.
Aussies are booking an average of nine to-10 day holidays, making them a valuable long haul market for the destination.
While numbers continue to rise, Anderson did reveal that visits to islands outside of Waikiki have slowed down due to an issue with availability.
“There is an issue with availability on popular islands and domestic flights can be full,” she said.
To support agents booking Hawaii holidays, the bureau launched its Aloha Down Under roadshow this week.
Reaching around 500 agents nation-wide, the annual event is an opportunity to speak to some 28 Hawaii tourism operators.
