Travel convention An upcoming convention of travel agents at the Hawaii Convention Center will be a boon for the Hawaii tourism industry, but lower-than-expected attendance shows that a rough travel market looms out there, officials said.
drawing fewer
than expected
The 6,000 attendees predicted at the
American Society of Travel Agents
may be more like 3,000By Tim Ruel
truel@starbulletin.comBack in January, the American Society of Travel Agents had predicted attendance of 6,000 at its week-long 2002 World Travel Congress, which starts Nov. 3. Now, with a couple weeks left to go, the event is expected to draw from 2,500 to 3,000 attendees, said Danny Casey, president of the society's Hawaii chapter.
Typical turnout for the convention is 5,000. Last year, in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, the event was moved at the last minute to New York City from Spain, and drew about 3,000.
The travel agents' group wanted to be more optimistic about the 2002 conference, said Brigid McDonnell, director of North America travel trade marketing for the Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau.
But around spring, one by one the airlines stopped paying commissions to travel agents, which forced the consolidation of travel agencies and the elimination of jobs, said Zenaida McLin, director of convention services for the Hawaii visitors bureau.
Agents also face the same uncertainties as the general public. "They're consumers too, basically," McDonnell said. A pending war in Iraq and the tourist bombing in Indonesia's Bali have been added to the list of things to worry about, she said.
Many travel agencies are small businesses, and layoffs mean there are fewer agents to send on a trip to Hawaii, McDonnell said.
Hawaii's overall market for corporate meetings, conventions and incentive travel is down this year, with 9 percent fewer visitors through August. That's slightly worse than the 7 percent decrease in all travel to the islands.
Realizing the depth of the problem, the visitors bureau took the offensive this summer to make the travel agents' convention more attractive. Hotels and airlines offered discounts. Promotions included a free-one day tour of the islands, as well as an event rate of $159 for agents who wanted to attend a just couple days of the six-day conference. The full fee is $379 for member agents, according to the ASTA Web site.
At least 1,100 agents have registered, McLin said. Organizers are hoping for another 500 before time runs out. Refunds were cut off at the beginning of this month, according to the Web site.
During 2000, the best year for international travel, the society's World Travel Congress in Las Vegas had 5,000 attendees, including 2,500 agents, McLin said.
Regardless of the size of this year's event, Hawaii's tourism stands to benefit, because the place that hosts the travel agents' convention normally reaps an increase in travel in the year afterward. This meeting will help agents sell the islands as a relatively safe travel destination, Casey said.
Hawaii's last World Travel Congress, held in 1981, was no exception.
"It really kind of kicked off some of the peak growth in travel for Hawaii," Casey said, adding, "we probably won't see the same kind of increase" this year.
"I think it will help. There's a lot of factors involved -- the economy, the world situation -- but this can't do anything but help strengthen Hawaii's position," Casey said.
The American Society of Travel Agents was founded in 1931 as the American Steamship and Tourist Agents' Association. The group and its affiliates have more than 24,000 members.