Kauai hits stride
amid whirlwind
of publicity
LIHUE >> A recent MasterCard ad ended with the line: "A trip to Kauai ... priceless."
A current Coors Light ad shown on many televised sports events shows a happy beer drinker in a T-shirt that reads: KAUAI.
And then there's the enormous exposure given Kauai by TV star Matt LeBlanc's wedding -- the cover of People magazine for starters -- coupled with highly publicized (and almost simultaneous) visits to the island by Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck.
"This particular year, the amount of recognition we've received has really pushed us to the forefront," said Sue Kanoho, executive director of the Kauai Visitors Bureau.
Kauai has been on a publicity roll for the past several years and the Garden Island has slowly been nudging Maui out of the spotlight as the "in" place to vacation in Hawaii. Consider:
>> Just this week, Travel & Leisure Golf magazine named the Princeville Golf Course the "Best in Hawaii."Most of Kauai's newfound popularity among travel writers is hitting right in the zone where the Garden Island wants to market itself.>> In August, Travel & Leisure magazine's reader poll named Kauai the No. 1 best island vacation spot in Hawaii and the No. 5 best island vacation spot in the world.
>> Earlier this year, the Travel Channel named Poipu Beach the best beach in America. Last Year, Dr. Beach gave Poipu Beach the same rating.
>> Also this year, AOL Travel named Kalalau Beach the No. 1 unspoiled beach in America.
>> USA Weekend Magazine listed the 10 most beautiful places in America and ranked Kauai's Na Pali Coast No. 4.
>> Three years ago, National Geographic Adventure magazine ranked kayaking the Na Pali Coast as the No. 2 adventure trip in America, right behind rafting the Grand Canyon.
Lacking Oahu and Maui's abundant night life and shopping malls, Kauai aims for tourists who enjoy being outdoors -- whether on a golf course or a hike or a boating tour -- and those who are happy sitting on a beautiful beach.
As Kauai's official "keeper of the image," Kanoho admits she has found herself on the defensive at times from the more traditional communities on the island.
Even The Garden Island, the Kauai newspaper, grumbled in an editorial about the parade of celebrities and the accompanying celebrity press corps. The news media on Kauai has long had a tradition of leaving visiting celebrities alone.
Many entertainers have homes on Kauai. Some are reclusive and rarely seen. Others are seen so frequently in restaurants and supermarkets that Kauai residents pay no attention to them.
All that changed with the May wedding of LeBlanc, who plays "Joey" in the NBC hit "Friends," and his longtime fiancee, former model Melissa McKnight. It was fueled by a huge mystery over who actually was getting married because so many stars were visiting the island.
The wedding coverage was fine, but a documentary filmed by American Movie Classics about the paparazzi feeding frenzy that accompanied it was not typical of Kauai's treatment of movie stars, Kanoho said.
More recently, Disney Channel star Hilary Duff celebrated her 16th birthday on Kauai and drew huge crowds -- far more than the organizers ever expected or could handle -- of local teenagers and pre-teens at the taping of the event. It is scheduled to be aired this week.
"This kind of response to celebrities is not who we are," Kanoho said. "I'm hoping it has run its course."
"I know there are some people on Kauai who believe the Visitors Bureau wants to push this as far as we can but that's really not true," Kanoho said.
The project that brings here the greatest pride was the animated 2002 Disney film "Lilo and Stitch," which takes place on Kauai.
On the opposite end of the scale was the steamy television reality series "Temptation Island," which originally planned to use Kauai as its location.
"I told them definitely not," Kanoho said. "That's not the image we want to portray."
