June Is An “Eventful” Month On Hawaii’s Big Island 

Travelers will find plenty to do on the Big Island during the month of June. Events ranging from Hawaiian music concerts to culinary extravaganzas and new restaurants, promise a relaxing getaway filled with fun, culture and adventure.

Big Island Events in June:

• New Naniloa Volcanoes Resort on Beautiful Hilo Bay
• Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa Adopts local hula halau
• Tommy Bahama’s Tropical Café Opening

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Through 6/30, win one of 5 multi-island Hawaii vacations that include rental car and air.

Enjoy Fall in Maui
Fall rates starting at $297 for terrace accommodations. Call 1-800-232-4604.

$169 Room and Breakfast on Waikiki Beach
Comfortable room and buffet breakfast for two with a Diamond Head view at Shore Bird Restaurant.

HVCB Enhances Travel Agent Program for Selling Hawaii
HVCB unveiled its new online Ke Kula O Hawaii ( School of Hawaii ) Destination Specialist program. The new and improved travel agent program is free, takes about four hours to complete online, and offers a host of business tool advantages when selling trips to Hawaii. Approximately half of all online training program content is focused on Hawaii’s culture, history, and geography, while the rest is devoted to selling Hawaii in today’s marketplace.

The program is open to all travel professionals with exclusive benefits for travel agents. Travel agents who complete the program earn exclusive benefits to help build client relationships, featuring personalized pre-arrival welcome guidebooks, consumer referrals, and continuing education credits through The Travel Institute. While not eligible to receive the business building tools offered to travel agents, our non-travel agent industry partners may also take the online course to improve their knowledge and understanding of the Hawaiian Islands. Register at agents.gohawaii.com

Domestic Air Seat Capacity Projected To Increase Four Percent Between May and July
Domestic air seats are projected to increase 3.7 percent, while international air seats are forecasted to decline 8.5 percent during the three-month rolling period between May and July, compared to the same period last year, according to a Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT) analysis of Official Airline Guide (OAG) flight schedules:

• Scheduled non-stop air seats to Hawaii from the U.S. West are projected to reach nearly 1.7 million during between May and July, up 6.8 percent over prior-year levels. Hawaii ‘s top domestic market, Los Angeles , is expected to see a 2.3 percent increase in seats during the three-month period, due in part to ATA’s new additional nonstop service between LAX and Honolulu , scheduled to begin on May 25. Hawaii’s second largest market, San Francisco is projected to experience double-digit declines in air seats (-21.7%), though the 67.7 percent boost in seats from nearby Oakland International Airport, and 39.0 percent increase from San Jose will help offset the decline. Gateways with the highest percentage increases over prior-year levels include: Phoenix (+147.8%); Salt Lake City (+38.2%); and Las Vegas (+35.6%).

• Scheduled air seats from the U.S. East are projected to decrease 9.4 percent between May and July. Significant drops are expected to be seen in Houston (-32.0%) and Minneapolis (-40.3%), the MMA’s fourth and fifth largest gateways, respectively. The U.S. East’s largest gateway, Chicago will experience a nominal increase in air seats (+0.3%), while the second largest gateway, Atlanta, will see a 19.2 percent boost in air seat capacity for the period.

This story originally appeared in “HVCB Tourism Industry Update" (TIU). TIU is a bi-weekly briefing of travel news and developments affecting Hawaii ‘s visitor industry, compiled by the HVCB Market Trends Department. Links to current and past Tourism Industry Updates are available online at agents.gohawaii.com

New Downloadable Hawaii Poster Prints Available Online
This month, you may have noticed some changes in HVCB’s travel professionals website, agents.gohawaii.com. Now, to access the sales and marketing tools and materials available to travel professionals, you must first log in using one of the following:

• New to the HVCB website and Hawaii specialist program? Simply click on "Create a New Account" to access the site.

• Already an HDS certified agent? Enter your email address* and HDS password † (HDS****).

• Not an HDS agent but have logged on to our Marketing Toolbox at agents.gohawaii.com? Enter your email address* and the password † you chose for your HVCB Marketing Toolbox account.

• Already have a username and password from www.HTSurfnet.com?
Enter your email address* and the password † you chose for your www.HTSurfnet.com account.

June 28, 2006   Posted in: Hawaii