Mufi's Message - November 9, 2020

General Membership Meeting

The Future of Marketing Hawai'i
Clockwise from top left: Eric Takahata - Managing Director, Hawaii Tourism Japan; Jay Talwar - Chief Marketing Officer, Hawai'i Visitors & Convention Bureau; Danny Ojiri - VP Market Solutions, Outrigger Enterprises Group; Jack E. Richards - President & CEO, Pleasant Holidays.

Aloha,

It is General Membership Meeting Week!

The entire HLTA staff is excited to be able to interact with you all again, albeit in a new and virtual way. Today, I wanted to share with you some information about two of our discussion panels.

As you know, the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on our industry, but this has opened up exciting and new possibilities on the things that our home has to offer to travelers as well as, maybe more importantly, how we market these assets to the rest of the world.

As such, HLTA's 193rd GMM will feature an asynchronous discussion panel entitled: The Future of Marketing Hawai'i. This panel will feature HVCB's Chief Marketing Officer Jay Talwar, Outrigger Enterprises Group's Chief Marketing Officer Danny Ojiri, Hawai'i Tourism Japan's Managing Director Eric Takahata, and Pleasant Holidays' President & CEO Jack E. Richards.

This discussion panel will be available throughout our entire conference, and I highly encourage you to take some time to listen in.

The Future of Marketing Hawai'i panel discussion will be moderated by Outrigger Enterprises Group's Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer Sean Dee.

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The Future of Hawai'i from the Skies: an Airlines Panel
Clockwise from top left: Peter Ingram - President & CEO, Hawaiian Airlines; Andrew Harrison - Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Alaska Airlines; Andrew Watterson - EVP & Chief Revenue Officer, Southwest Airlines; Toby Enqvist - Senior Vice President & Chief Customer Officer, United Airlines.

Much in the way that our local industry has the opportunity to re-imagine the way that we market our island to the masses, air travel has undoubtedly changed in the wake of COVID-19. In this panel discussion, you will have the chance to listen in as executives from our partners who provide flights to Hawai'i discuss the future of air travel as we know it. 

The panel, which will be moderated by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser's Allison Schaefers, will feature representatives from United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and, of course, Hawaiian Airlines. This will be an important conversation, and you should not miss it.

The Future of Hawai'i from the Skies: an Airlines Panel will be moderated by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser's Waikiki Bureau Chief Allison Schaefers.

COVID-19 Update

Several months ago, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield made a public statement that said Americans could bring the COVID-19 pandemic under control in just a couple of months if every citizen chose to wear a mask in an effort to mitigate the spread of the deadly virus that has killed 200,000 Americans.

As you know, I have advocated locally for our government to not only mandate masks, but also to enact legislation that would allow law enforcement to issue a ticket to those not in compliance rather than a citation. The fine, which could be compared to those of a parking ticket, would have an immediate impact on those who are cited. 

"Statewide mask mandate could mean immediate fines for violators," KHON2, November 5, 2020

I was pleased to see State Attorney General Clare Connors echo these comments in a recent story on KHON. Lieutenant Governor Josh Green agreed in recent comments to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, noting also that the State Legislature could enact this type of legislation on November 18 when the Senate will meet to consider Gov. Ige's recent judicial appointment. Moreover, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell has indicated that the corporation counsel in each county are in discussion with the Attorney General to develop a statewide policy.

It is my position that this would have an immediate and measurable impact on the  slight upward trend in new COVID-19 cases that we have seen as of late. It would also force those who choose to flout the law to take it more seriously. I am hopeful that the State and county governments will make this course of action a priority and address this issue sooner rather than later.

Mahalo,
​Mufi