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Tourism Program

The Tourism Program provides collaborative leadership to strategically manage tourism on Hawai‘i Island in a sustainable manner that promotes a high quality life for residents, preservation of our natural and cultural resources, quality experiences for visitors and economic growth for the county.

Contact Information

Moku O Keawe Halau hula group performing

Stephanie Donoho

Tourism Specialist
Telephone: (808) 961-8505
Fax: (808) 935-1205
E-mail: sdonoho@co.hawaii.hi.us

Background

On the Island of Hawai‘i approximately 18,000 jobs are based on Tourism. In 2011, 1.31 million people visited the Island of Hawai‘i. Visitors stayed on average 7.26 days, for a total of 9.5 million visitor days.  Visitors spent more than $147 dollars a day, for an economic impact of $1.4 billion.  Approximately 65.3% of those were repeat visitors to the island.  The visitor industry plays a critical role in employment and economic growth for the island.

Program Goals

Ola Ka ‘āina, ola ke kanaka! (Healthy land, healthy people!)

    1. To sustain visitor counts and increase the length of stay and spending on the Island of Hawai‘i by all visitor segments.
    2. To enhance visitor satisfaction through enhanced product development and other programs.
    3. To support our unique quality of live, values and vision for the benefit of Hawai‘i's people by encouraging the visitor industry to meld itself with our host and other local cultures.
    4. To increase emergency preparedness and integration of the visitor and public sector emergency response plans.
    5. To increase tourism resources to facilitate in the planning and development of tourism programs for the Island of Hawai‘i.

Program Focus Areas

The Tourism Program focuses on three key areas to work towards its goals:

    1. Plan - Lead the Tourism Strategic Plan Oversight Committee to guide the implementation of the Hawai‘i Island Tourism Strategic Plan, and to provide annual updates of the plan.
    2. Implement - Facilitate the implementation of the annual requests for proposals for Hawai‘i Tourism Authority's County Product Enrichment Program and Research & Development Supplemental Funding Awards.
    3. Policy - Advise, draft and/or monitor local and state tourism policies.

Strategic Plan

    • Hawai‘i Island Tourism Strategic Plan – Reflects the desires and input of Hawai‘i Island tourism stakeholders including residents, state and county representatives and individuals in both public and private sectors.

1Stephanie Donoho – County of Hawai‘i Tourism Specialist – Department of Research and Development Original Source: DBEDT, Annual Visitor Research Report

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