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Blaisdell travel
show targets Hawaii
residents

State, mainland and international
marketers will be showcasing
destinations and attractions

By Russ Lynch
Star-Bulletin

A travel show booked for the Neal Blaisdell Center March 18-19 is based on the premise that although Hawaii's No. 1 industry is tourism from outside the state, isle residents are inveterate tourists themselves.

Seeking to tap that out-bound market, more than 120 exhibitors are booked to take part in the "Island by Island Travel & Leisure Expo." Sales people representing foreign destinations as well as hotels and attractions from throughout the United States are expecting more than 5,000 Hawaii residents each day, according to the organizers, a California business called Comstock Ranch Co.

The outside exhibitors will be joined by a range of Hawaii businesses, such as neighbor island hotels or Oahu adventure parks, seeking to widen their local customer base.

Comstock Ranch previously joined KGMB-TV in running a mid-1999 survey of the travel habits and desires of Hawaii residents that found 75 percent of the 2,300 residents surveyed feel they are overlooked by domestic and international travel marketers, said a Comstock spokesman, Stephen L. Hartmann. The survey showed 40 percent of those surveyed travel outside of Hawaii at least once a year and nearly 24 percent reported three or more such trips a year.

The expo will run 11 a.m.-to-6 p.m. on Saturday, March 18, and 10 a.m.-to-5 p.m. on March 19. Attendance costs $3.50 for anyone over age 12, but is free for children under 12.

Comstock says there will be entertainment and drawings for vacations, air travel and other prizes.