Bruce Fisher, co-founder of Hawaii Aloha Travel and Hawaii-Aloha.com, is one of only two finalists from among 14 states for a TravelAge West magazine Trendsetter Award for 2010.

His category? Travel Agent Superstar.

The magazine issued a call for entries for the four-category award program in January and “;I did it just for the heck of it,”; Fisher said. The questionnaire took about 45 minutes to complete.

He was stunned, honored and humbled to learn of his selection from Editor-in-Chief Ken Shapiro and that he would receive an expenses-paid trip to the magazine's June 10 WAVE Awards black-tie gala at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills.

“;To me it is the biggest honor”; to be acknowledged for work as a travel agent—and his company has 14 of them. “;It's a tough business.”;

“;You have to do a lot of work upfront and hope somebody buys ... but not everybody books,”; he said. Some customers “;ask you everything about Hawaii just so they can get the information and then they go book it somewhere else.”;

Fisher has no idea who the other finalist is or where they are from and he is “;really excited about it ... it gives me goosebumps. I don't know what to expect, but I hope I win,”; he said.

He is automatically going to win a cruise, according to an e-mail from TravelAge West Shapiro.

“;As one of only two finalists in your category, you are guaranteed either a Trendsetters Award or a runner-up honor.”; The top prize is a seven-night Caribbean Cruise for two with Celebrity Cruises, and the runner-up will get a seven-night Mexican Riviera Cruise for two with Royal Caribbean.

Fisher also may be featured in a story and on the cover of the June 21 issue of the magazine.

Fisher's wife and business partner Yaling will travel to the $9,000-per-table gala with him, courtesy of travel industry partner Blue Sky Tours.

Hawaii Aloha Travel morphed into its current iteration from its previous incarnation as Internet company Hawaii-Aloha.com, co-founded by Fisher, Ken Sanders and Harry Otsuji.

It was founded in 1997 and “;got dot-bombed”; in 2000, Fisher said.

Both Sanders and Otsuji were Fisher's mentors, and a key point Otsuji taught him that he has carried forward to Hawaii Aloha Travel is to “;never lose the personal touch, you've got to remember the human element,”; Fisher recalled.

Being a travel agent in the age of self-booking online is a challenge, but the Fishers and their employees know, according to research, that a huge percentage of self-bookers are not satisfied with their travel experiences.

“;We've always been an Internet company,”; but Hawaii Aloha Travel customers don't book via the website; they call or use Skype.

“;That's the single thing that separates us from ... the online travel agents, because when (customers) interact with us, they're connecting directly with people who live and work here, were born and raised here—we've got the edge,”; Fisher said.

“;You can't call (online travel site)-dot-com, (they're) not on our time.”;