BY JAMES WILKINSON IN HONOLULU
Hawaii is targeting a greater share of the Australian outbound MICE market in 2012 and beyond thanks to a strong Australian Dollar and Hawaiian Airlines’ addition of more than 11,000 seats per year on the Sydney-Honolulu route.
Speaking exclusively to HM on camera in Honolulu last week (Apr 22), Hawaiian Airlines’ Sales and Marketing Manager for Australia, Sherilyn Robinson, said interest was strong from the MICE market and while the dollar remained high, that was expected to continue for the immediate future.
To watch the exclusive video about the MICE market into Hawaii, including interviews with Hawaiian Airlines and Australian PCOs, click on the image below.
Hawaiian Airlines last Wednesday (Apr 25) launched widebody Airbus A330 aircraft onto the Sydney-Honolulu service adding not just 30 more seats per flight, but an unrivalled in-flight experience on the route that now includes seat-back entertainment on demand and new, increased recline seats in economy class.
Capitalising on the interest from the MICE market, Hawaiian Airlines and Hawaii Tourism Oceania hosted a pre-International Pow Wow (held in LA from Apr 22-25) famil to Honolulu for PCOs from Australia.
The group – which included Susan Brandie from Simply Great Ideas, Julia Barnard from This Space, Joanne Smythe from The Mayo Group, Justine Abood from CiEvents and Judy Sheehan from Quintessentially – experienced two of Hawaii’s leading hotels (The Modern Honolulu and The Kahala Hotel and Resort) and toured several more (the Waikiki Beach Marriott, Aston Waikiki and Starwood’s Moana Surfrider, Sheraton and the Royal Hawaiian). The group also toured Pearl Harbor, the USS Arizona memorial, the Pacific Aviation Museum and the USS Missouri, and went on an outrigger canoe ride on Waikiki Beach.
Speaking to HM on video, Brandie and Smythe said Hawaii was a perfect conference spot and highlights included the quality of hotel rooms and ballrooms, and the service onboard Hawaiian Airlines.