The economics Using some educated guesswork, organizers of the Aloha Festivals say the Oahu part of last year's event contributed $11 million to the local economy.
of aloha
From humble beginnings, the Aloha
Festivals now bring in $11 millionBy Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.comBut that is almost surely an underestimate, they say, and the amount of new spending generated by festival events probably was larger and this year will be greater still.
Janet Hyrne, executive director of the nonprofit Aloha Festivals organization is quick to add that economic stimulation isn't the main aim of the annual affair, which kicks off with the investiture of the Aloha Royal Court at Honolulu Hale Thursday and lasts well into October with events throughout the state.
From the start, she said, "it really was intended to preserve local traditions and aloha." The mixture of pageantry and fun was launched as Aloha Week in 1947, from an idea a year earlier by Honolulu businessman Harry Nordmark, who was saddened that much of Hawaii's history was locked away behind glass walls in museums.
Nordmark wanted to preserve Hawaii's music, dance and history and protect them from the invasion of outside influences. He rounded up some friends from his Junior Chamber of Commerce days and, calling themselves the JC Oldtimers, they got the show on the road as an event in each October.
"Then it did start to attract tourists," Hyrne said. The industry asked if it could be moved forward to September, a slack period for tourism, she said. The visitor industry got more involved and the event itself grew so much over the years both in scope and length that by 1974 it was spread over five islands with "Aloha Week" events lasting more than a month. So in 1991 it was renamed Aloha Festivals.
There is widespread sponsorship throughout the visitor industry, both in support money and in the form of in-kind contributions such as hotel rooms. This year Bank of Hawaii and American Express jumped in as presenting sponsors, making contributions worth at least $200,000. Those and hundreds of other sponsors get commercial benefits from the publicity.
But the purpose overall is cultural, rather than economic. "It's a chance for people to mix, a wide variety of people mixing together in a very friendly, fun-type environment," Hyrne said.
According to the International Festivals & Events Association, festivals can contribute 9 percent of visitor traffic to an area during a festival. Using Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau visitor traffic and spending estimates, Hyrne figured the event in 2,000 attracted 8,436 visitors to Oahu during the peak week and that's the origin of her $11 million figure.
There are other effects, too, such as the presence of 700 parade participants last year from Canada, Japan, Florida, California and Oregon and the hundreds more family and friends who came with them. So far this year there are groups booked from Taiwan (315 people) and Japan (50).
There was huge local media exposure for the parade and the open-street music and food Hoolaulea events in Waikiki and downtown Honolulu.
This year, specific promotions will reach out to millions of potential travelers to Hawaii.
>> Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays is advertising special Aloha Festivals travel packages on the mainland, promoting them in the top 10-15 markets. The campaign will create 2.25 billion impressions about Hawaii travel, the company said. Pleasant Hawaiian will also put a leaflet in some 250,000 packages of travel documents and run advertisements in travel trade papers and on radio. California-based Pleasant Hawaiian said it will spend as much as $4 million. Each Pleasant Hawaiian traveler will get a free Aloha Festivals ribbon, worth $7 if bought in the islands, good for free or discount entry to dozens of events.
>> American Express is publishing an eight-page color travel planner in major magazines on the West Coast, with a total circulation of 781,000, to promote Aloha Festivals and travel to Hawaii.
>> American Hawaii Cruises is advertising a special "Heritage Cruise," stressing Hawaiian music and culture.
>> This year the "Mrs. America" contestants will be in the Floral Parade and show their evening gowns and state costumes at a fund-raising luncheon to be televised by Pax TV to 217 U.S. cities as well as on the armed forces channels and in 170 countries.
>> CBS TV is expected to run the Honolulu Floral Parade on its Thanksgiving Day show and last year that exposure, along with other pieces on Fox TV, reached an estimated 41 million people, for an exposure value of some $1.7 million. The television effect is expected to be similar this year.
For the future, Hyrne said Aloha Festivals is working with United Airlines to show a 90-second promotion spot on screens aboard United flights reaching an estimated 3.3 million people with an advertising value of about $63,000. That should kick in next year, she said.
Meanwhile at home, thanks to thousands of volunteers and the sponsors who help stretch the organization's meager budget, thousands of local residents will get to mix with visitors from other cultures.
Aloha Festivals is assisted by funds from the Hawaii Tourism Authority, corporate sponsorships and private donations, as well as income from the sale of Aloha Festivals ribbons and merchandise.
For more information, check the Web site http://www.alohafestivals.com.