Hawaiian boosts
festivalsHawaiian Airlines will donate
$500,000 in cash and in-kind
contributions to the Aloha Festivals
The Aloha Festivals, facing what its president called "possibly the most difficult year in our history," has received a three-year, $500,000 commitment from Hawaiian Airlines that will begin with this fall's event and will make the carrier the statewide presenting sponsor.
Hawaiian, which is marking its 75th anniversary this year, said it had been looking for a way to contribute to the community after what it termed a "good" year in its business. The partnership with the only statewide cultural festival in the country will bring the Aloha Festivals a needed capital infusion and allow it to hold some of the minor events it was planning to cancel.
Leolani Kini, president of Aloha Festivals, said the event's board members had been seeking a title sponsor after a three-year commitment from Bank of Hawaii and American Express expired last year. The two companies had donated a total of $450,000.
"A lot of the corporate sponsors were having difficulty deciding who they wanted to divvy their assistance to and Hawaiian stepped to the plate," Kini said.
One person affiliated with Hawaiian joked that the newspaper headline could read, "Hawaiian saves Aloha," a reference to Hawaiian's longtime interisland competitor, Aloha Airlines.
Mark Dunkerley, president and chief operating officer of Hawaiian, said the commitment will consist of $100,000 for each of the three years, plus passenger and cargo transportation and in-kind marketing through media outlets. The money will come out of the airline's promotions budget. The airline, which is in Chapter 11 reorganization, has posted 13 consecutive months of operating profits.
"It's a commitment that is valued at more than half-a-million dollars, but much more important than that, it is a pledge from all of us at Hawaiian Airlines to get behind this world-class cultural event and make it bigger and better than it has been before," Dunkerley said. "The Aloha Festivals is part of the fabric of this community. It is one of the more important cultural events that helps differentiate us from the rest of the world."
In 1998, Hawaiian made a similar $525,000, three-year commitment to the King Kamehameha Celebration at a time when the event was in danger of being canceled.
"We hope our participation is candidly much more than writing a check and putting a logo on some ads," Dunkerley said. "We hope it will be a catalyst for bringing other supporters along and making the festival grow, become more popular and reach out to more people."
The 58-year-old Aloha Festivals, which is held around the islands from mid-September through October, features 50 events including a floral parade in Waikiki and a downtown and Waikiki Ho'olaulea. The festivals also occur at a slow time of the year for Hawaii's tourism industry and help bring visitors to the islands. Last year's festivals attracted 127,000 attendees.
"The fall is a challenging time for the tourism industry," said Frank Haas, vice president of marketing for the state Hawaii Tourism Authority. "Traditionally, kids are back to school, so people who travel tend to be more interested in cultural events and apt to be older and higher-spending visitors. Scheduling the Aloha Festivals at that time really fits into the needs of the industry."
Haas said the agency is contributing $300,000 to Aloha Festivals this year, the highest amount of HTA funding for any of the state's major festivals. The next largest is $200,000 for the Honolulu Festival, while the just-concluded Pan Pacific Festival received $150,000.
Earlier this month, the King Kamehameha Celebration Floral Parade avoided cancellation when the Honolulu Police Department absorbed the cost of roughly $10,000 to provide traffic control. Grueninger Tours of Indiana also provided $15,000 for this year's King Kamehameha parade.