| Hawaii makes a big change in tourism marketing |
| The Hawaii Tourism Authority has awarded the contract to market the state to U.S. visitors to the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, replacing the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau. |
Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) announced on June 2 that it has awarded its multi-million dollar US market contract to the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA), which will provide branding and visitor education in Hawaii and on the mainland.
The contract did not go to the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB), which has held the US market contract for many years.
In December, the state rescinded the initial offer made to the company that won the contract, and HTA issued a new Request for Proposals in April. Both RFPs were shared in The Travel Vertical.
In addition to the in-market activities conducted in the previous contract, the RFP included coordination, communication, and promotion for initiatives for initiatives produced by the community through the Destination Management Action Plans. It also included support services for the website, app, social media channels, and creative content used for worldwide branding and educational purposes. This new contract will run from June 30, 2022 through the end of December 2024, with the option of extending for two years.
According to the RFP, the contract is worth no more than $16.3 million dollars for July through December of 2022, and no more than $18.8 million for next year. No dollar amount was listed in the RFP for 2024.
“The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) is humbled that the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) entrusted us as the entity to deliver the change that Hawaii has long demanded of our visitor industry, ” said Joe Kuhio Lewis, president and CEO of CNHA, in a statement released last week. “We understand there remains a process in place, and we will follow HTA’s lead in the days ahead to preserve the integrity of that process.”
CNHA is a member-based non-profit organization whose mission is “to enhance the cultural, economic, political, and community development of Native Hawaiians,” according to its website.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority’s Strategic Plan 2020-2025 may be found here.
