A warm mahalo to our members and guests who joined us for the HVCB summer kick-off at the White Sands Hotel! We had a wonderful evening of networking and fun, getting to meet and connect with over 120 industry professionals.

We want to thank Ben Rafter, President & CEO of Springboard Hospitality, Romeo Aguinaldo, Area General Manager and Wade Takano, Operations Manager at the White Sands Hotel for generously hosting the event and to the team at the hotel-owned restaurant, Heyday, for putting together a delightful menu. It's not every day we get to throw an event served by a James Beard award-winning chef, Robynne Maii!

A special thanks to all the partners and volunteers who supported the event. Mahalo to Southwest Airlines for being a premier sponsor and providing two round-trip tickets for the grand prize. Mahalo to supporting sponsors Heyday, Green Lady, Aloha Event DJ, Victor Goodpasture Photography, and Kō Hana Distillers and to amenity and prize donors Honolulu Cookie Company, Aubrey Emi Design, and Kōkua Sun Care.

Mahalo Victor for capturing a splashtacular evening!

We immersed ourselves in traditional Hawaiian knowledge and practices at Bishop Museum. We opened the morning with HVCB member Casey Ballao, Director of Sales and Marketing at SpeediShuttle, providing our Hawaiian cultural protocols and sharing more about the culture throughout the day.

The volunteer team, comprised of members and HVCB staff, worked with the museum botany team in Nā Ulu Kanu o Kaiwi'ula Native Hawaiian Garden, cultivating and cleaning the native garden with non-native plants, these plants were essential to the survival of the original Polynesian settlers to Hawai'i over 1,000 years ago. Volunteers also worked with the museum curator to carefully catalog and identify some of the thousands of plants in the museum's collection.

Mahalo to Milton Lafitaga and Sade Thomas at Bishop Museum for coordinating this event! 

Maui Visitors and Convention Bureau (MVCB) partnered with Nohoʻana Farm in central Maui and the Pacific Whale Foundation. We all lent a hand on this ancestral land, working in and around the loʻi to mālama ʻāina in honor of Earth Day. We were able to uncover the stone wall, that has been hidden by trees for nearly a century.

A huge mahalo to our lunch sponsor, Southwest Airlines!

Mahalo to Meagan DeGaia, Destination Manager at MVCB for coordinating this event!

The Hawaiʻi Visitors & Convention Bureau in partnership with Anthology Marketing Group presents "Social Media E-Commerce Webinar." Need tips on how to succeed in an ever-changing and ever-competitive e-commerce industry? You'll get insights into how small e-commerce businesses can make the most of social media to grow an audience and attract customers. We’ll cover best practices on how to maximize your profile, different content ideas, user-generated content, and beginning with paid ads. Recorded March 24, 2022.

Increasing Positive Intelligence can impact self-awareness, strengthen ones ability to differentiate saboteur thoughts and feelings from ally thoughts and feelings, improve productivity and develop resiliency.

Grace will share specific mini-mindfulness practices and strategies that you can use throughout the day to elevate mindset. This accelerated learning experience is offered based on the Positive Intelligence body of work developed by Shirzad Chamine and the Coach Excellence School body of work developed by Grace Hao & Coach with Grace.

The recording of Elevate Mindset & Build Resiliency is available exclusively to registered attendees.

Please join us as we welcome Russell Dubner, President & CEO of Edelman U.S., and Christie Bishop, Executive Vice President of Integrated Brand Marketing, as they present the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer. The presentation will cover how consumer trust in societal institutions and leaders has declined in the past year due to the rise and spread of misinformation. A failing trust ecosystem leaves four institutions – business, government, NGOS and media – with an opportunity and an obligation to step in and repair this trust. Learn why this is important and how HVCB membership can address these issues across its priority markets: U.S., S. Korea, Japan, Australia and Canada.

What you need to know about the COVID-19 Vaccine. Join us for an update from Lieutenant Governor, Josh Green, on the State of Hawaii COVID-19 Vaccination Program and Dr. Deb Friesen, MD, MBA, FACP, who will discuss the latest information on COVID-19 and Vaccines – what we know and what comes next.

The Better Business Bureau will share information on the best ways to protect yourself from vaccine related scams.

Speakers:

• Lieutenant Governor Josh Green
• Dr. Deb Friesen - Physician Advisor Customer Clinical Solutions, National Sales and Account Management at Kaiser Permanente
• David Tumilowicz - Senior Director of Marketing at Kaiser Permanente
• Roseann Freitas - Public Relations & Communications Manager for the Better Business Bureau Great West + Pacific

What will it take for travelers to feel comfortable to travel again? What impact will the vaccine have? Join us to learn about the independent research conducted by Destination Analysts. You will gain insight into American travelers’ concerns about personal finances, the perceived safety of travel activities, openness to travel information, upcoming travel plans and more. This information is being provided as a benefit of your HVCB membership. Destination Analysts’ data is not sponsored nor influenced by any advertising or marketing agency. This means that you can trust that these important insights are not serving any agenda other than to provide you reliable information upon which to base decisions for our tourism community’s future.

Following David’s presentation of the research, he will be joined by Jay Talwar, HVCB Chief Marketing Officer, and Jeffrey Esslinger, HVCB Sr. Director of Market Insights, for a talk story and question and answer period.

In today's rapidly changing environment, it is all too easy to get caught up in the rush of daily activities. We need to remind ourselves to practice self-care on a regular basis. In this live, interactive webinar we will learn 7 exercises for stress management, discuss the power of gratitude, and have the opportunity to connect with others.

Get ready to laugh and learn together. Our guide, Makana Risser Chai, is a certified wellness coach and author of the book, Mindful Multitasking: Timeless Techniques for a Vibrant Mind, Strong Body, Happy Heart & Light Spirit.

Economic chaos and the pandemic are causing unprecedented change in commerce, society, and everyday life. Resilient companies that adapt quickly to change are far more able to survive and succeed than those that are stuck in business as usual.

Topics include: • Appreciating the benefits of change • Overcoming resistance to change • Understanding how people respond differently to change • Assessing the risks and rewards of change • Preparing, planning, and implementing organizational change • Leading others through the process of change • Creating an action plan for successful change

A presentation on the HVCB marketing strategy, sharing research, updates and the overall plan to welcome visitors back to Hawaii.

Posture your communication with optimism, care, solution-oriented thinking, and a sincere desire to serve. With respect for the current global circumstances, it is important to be brief, personable, and find ways to add value to those you are looking to connect with virtually.

In this webinar you will: • Discover how to build rapport and create receptivity to your calls, emails, texts, videos, and beyond. • Learn how to connect efficiently and effectively with online etiquette strategies.

Coral reefs represent the backbone of Hawaii's ocean ecosystem. Critically important to providing food, coastal protection, marine recreation opportunities, and healthy marine ecosystems, Hawaii's reefs face numerous impacts and threats. In recent years, scientists have focused on the harmful impacts of sunscreen to coral reefs. In an effort to curb these impacts, Hawaii passed landmark legislation in 2019 banning certain chemicals commonly found in sunscreens. These chemicals have been linked to coral disease and death. This webinar will review Hawaii's sunscreen legislation as it relates to businesses, provide best practices for sun protection, and help your business make the most environmentally conscious decision when it comes to sun protection for your guests.

Presented by Lauren Blickley, marine biologist, on behalf of the Sustainable Tourism Association of Hawaii.

People are turning to social media like never before to find a sense of community. Big shifts are happening and post-quarantine consumers will have new expectations. This webinar outlines how to shift your social media strategy during the COVID-19 recovery period so you can appeal to travelers and tour groups. According to the Harris Poll, the people most likely to travel by plane in the first 3 months of recovery are under 49. These tech-savvy tourists are tapping and scrolling outside the news feed. They are looking for connection and recommendations online. You can stay top of mind and get more bookings from social media coming out of this crisis. Join us to learn social marketing strategies you should be using now and during the recovery to get ahead. This webinar will help you be ready once the travel quarantine is lifted and we are ready to welcome visitors again.

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Northstar Meetings Group’s PULSE survey has assessed the changing circumstances, needs and plans of planners and event organizers all all types, from around the world. Northstar’s data has provided valuable insights to the meetings industry as it works toward recovery. Have the increases in cases over the last several weeks in various states changed plans and priorities? When do planners and event organizers expect to get back to business, and what will that look like? Are there different expectations for events, based on their locations, size and type? This timely session reported on the very latest PULSE survey results, aggregated and analyzed just prior to the webinar.

Also on this webinar, John Reyes, Senior Vice President and Chief MCI Sales Officer, and Mary Neister, Vice President, Global MCI and Statewide Hotel Sales, provided an update on what is happening in the single property and city wide meetings space for the rest of 2020 and into 2021. They brought content that can help shape your decisions and shared information on an innovative approach to bring planners to your doors this fall (who will look to book 2021 and beyond). In alliance with HVCB’s media partners, two tech solutions have been created that will make connections and generate leads.

It’s the question everyone is asking. When will visitors be ready to travel again? Join us to learn about the independent research conducted by Destination Analysts. You will gain insight into American travelers’ concerns about personal finances, the perceived safety of travel activities, openness to travel information, upcoming travel plans and more. This information is being provided as a benefit of your HVCB membership. Destination Analysts’ data is not sponsored nor influenced by any advertising or marketing agency. This means that you can trust that these important insights are not serving any agenda other than to provide you reliable information upon which to base decisions for our tourism community’s future.