Tourism push in Australia
With Australia visitor arrivals in Hawaii running more than 40 percent higher than last year, the state tourism industry is sending a team to the South Pacific to drum up even more interest.
Hawaii will be hosting its annual trade show "Aloha Down Under" May 30-June 2 in Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane with the theme, "Unique Hawaii."
Australian media reported this week that 22 Hawaiian suppliers will be attending the show.
"We are looking to build on the strong foundations we established at our 2004 event but to concentrate on the things that Hawaii has to offer that make it unique," said Gemma O'Brien, who markets Hawaii in Australia.
Meanwhile, Hawaii's agents in Taiwan are attending the Kaohsiung Travel Fair in southern Taiwan, running Thursday through Sunday, and Hawaii's agents in Shanghai hope for a tourism bounce from a photo shoot in Hawaii next week for the Chinese edition of Elle magazine.
