Meet Hawaii team reaches out to serve more international groups

HONOLULU, Hawaii – Meet Hawaii, a collaboration of the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), HTA’s Global Marketing Team, and the Hawaii Convention Center (HCC) focused on securing single property and citywide group business for the Hawaiian Islands under one unified brand, has expanded its sales and marketing efforts globally to 11 key international regions.

In addition to its presence in the United States, members of Meet Hawaii’s global meeting, conventions and incentives (MCI) sales team are now present in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany, enabling meeting planners to communicate with a Hawaii expert in their respective region.

“The reach of the MCI market continues to expand internationally and remains very competitive, so HTA expanded the responsibilities of its global marketing partners to reinforce the brand of the Hawaiian Islands as a world-class destination for business meetings, incentives, conventions and events in their respective markets,” said Pris Texeira, managing director of HTA Global MCI and Meet Hawaii. “Part of Meet Hawaii’s mission is to inform groups and planners around the world that they can successfully do business anywhere in the Hawaiian Islands and they will receive all the support needed to create a rewarding program that satisfies their objectives. Having boots on the ground in each market makes our team more effective in conveying that message.”

Leveraging its mid-Pacific location, the Hawaiian Islands and world-class Hawaii Convention Center offer an appealing host meeting site to attract attendees from anywhere in the world. Coupled with convenient access by air travel, organizations with international counterparts, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, will find that Hawaii encourages strong participation from delegates and exhibitors. Unlike any other meetings destination, Hawaii offers the feel and allure of an international setting with the comforts, conveniences and security of working in the United States.

“Our highly experienced global sales team offers essential insider knowledge about the nuances of hosting meetings in the Hawaiian Islands, which is invaluable at both enhancing and simplifying the planning process for meeting organizers,” said Texeira.
“We have a proven track record of success hosting global meetings of all sizes and types, highlighted by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in 2011, and more recently the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress in 2016, which organizers gave high praise to Hawaii as the host site.”

A collection of six unique islands – Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui and the island of Hawaii – each of which offers a unique meeting experience for planners seeking a versatile destination with the flexibility to build successful programs ranging from intimate corporate retreats to association meetings and global conventions. With a 98 percent visitor satisfaction rating, year-round warm weather, high-quality product in all facets of the meeting experience, and a tropical environment that inspires attendees to be relaxed, focused and enthusiastic about the business at hand, Hawaii delivers a meeting experience like no other place worldwide.

The Hawaii Convention Center has been called one of the most beautiful meeting spaces in the country, with an open-air design that brings the outdoors inside and allows meeting participants to experience a true Hawaiian sense of place. Hawaii’s premier meetings facility, it is also the largest in the Hawaiian Islands with 1.1 million square feet of total meeting space that can accommodate events hosting more than 13,000 attendees. The Center offers 47 meeting rooms, a 200,000-square-foot exhibit hall, two tiered-seating theaters, a 35,000-square-foot ballroom and a registration lobby of the same size. Topping it all off is a 2.5-acre landscaped rooftop events terrace ideal for outdoor banquets and receptions.

There are more than 30,000 hotel rooms on Oahu in a wide range of categories and offering a variety of amenities at all price points. The vast majority of those rooms are within a 1.5-mile radius from the Center and easily accessible by walking through scenic Waikiki. The inspiring atmosphere of Hawaii and the design of the Center provide a nurturing setting that encourages networking and collaboration, which planners have noticed leads to increased productivity, synergy, attendee satisfaction and overall success of the event.