Vencl to head
Maui Visitors Bureau
WAILUKU >> The next executive director of the Maui Visitors Bureau said she plans to continue focusing marketing efforts to attract West Coast visitors.
"We're on a successful course," Terryl Vencl said. "I want to take it to a new level."
Vencl, whose annual salary will be somewhere between $85,000 and $90,000, said she wants to see an expansion of the terminal at the Kahului Airport, where passenger traffic is three times its original building capacity.
About 169 flights have arrived each week this summer, 30 more than last year, according to the bureau.
Vencl, 55, who has served as executive director of the Maui Hotel Association for the past 11 years, was named executive director of the bureau yesterday.
Vencl will assume the new position July 15, succeeding Marsha Wienert, who has become the state's first tourism liaison under Gov. Linda Lingle.
Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa said Vencl worked hard at the Maui Hotel Association.
"We're very pleased with the selection," he said.
Both Vencl and Arakawa said they wanted to make sure that visitors had a pleasant experience on Maui and want to find a way of improving conditions at the airport's visitor terminal, where passenger lines sometimes extend outside the terminal during peak hours.
The bureau, with a staff of 12, is in charge of marketing Maui, Lanai and Molokai as visitor destinations and has an annual budget of more than $6 million, including $3.6 million in county financial support.
Vencl said she began work on Maui as a personal secretary for Maui Clothing Co. Inc., then worked for Maui Hotel Association Executive Director Lynn Britton for two years.
Vencl assumed the executive director's position after the departure of Britton, who had successfully sought office as a Maui County Council member.
Vencl and Arakawa will be among a group of Maui people leaving Sunday on a six-day visit to Japan.
Vencl said even though even though the Japan market represents a small portion of Maui's visitor volume, she believed it was wise to diversify as much as possible.
"We don't want to put all our eggs in one basket," she said.