HTA Awards Marketing Contracts in 4 Countries

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority awarded four contracts for inbound destination marketing management services regarding the major market areas of China, Korea, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan, according to an HTA release.

“We are pleased to be partnering with these specialists who will implement comprehensive plans to attract high-spending travelers from their respective markets,” said Chris Tatum, HTA President and CEO. “We also want to extend a sincere mahalo to BrandStory and JWI Marketing for promoting Hawaii as a premier destination in China and Taiwan over the past years.”

The winning contractor for China was ITRAVLOCAL LIMITED; for Korea, AVIAREPS Korea; for Southeast Asia, VIAREPS Malaysia; and for Taiwan, BrandStory Asia.

HTA issued a Request for Proposal for each of the four markets on June 17, the release states. Based on the quality of proposals, a list of finalists was determined, and presentations were made to HTA and an evaluation committee comprised of hotel, attraction, retail and airline marketing executives.

All four companies will receive a three-year contract starting Jan. 1, 2020 with HTA having the option to extend the agreement for up to two additional years.

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority is the State of Hawaii agency responsible for strategically managing its support of the tourism industry.