Like many people, I’m looking for optimism where I can get it these days, so I wanted to share an experience from last month’s Travel Weekly Hawaii Leadership Forum, held in Honolulu.
I think most attendees would agree that a highlight of the event was the speech by Aaron Sala, the new CEO of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB). As you might imagine, Sala got everyone’s attention when he stated plainly, “Tourism as we have known it is over.”
As reported by Christine Hilt for Travel Weekly (a sister brand to TravelAge West), Sala went on to say that the classic model of tourism is outdated and wrongheaded, yet too many companies refuse to evolve. Instead, they are simply, “buffing the rust off a machine that was never built to serve all of us in the first place.”
Tourism as we have known it is over.
Rather than taking a position that is hostile to industry partners, Sala was asking stakeholders to join the HVCB in reimagining and reinvigorating tourism — first in Hawaii, then in other destinations, as well. He called for a “new tourism compact.”
“That compact is meant to be a global framework rooted in regenerative principles, cultural integrity and systemic equity,” Sala said. “We want to do this together.”
Sala made it clear that his goal is not to damage partner relationships, but to bring better balance to tourism in Hawaii. His appeal was not lost on the travel executives in the audience. Later in the day, Ray Snisky, group president of ALG Vacations, said that Sala’s approach was “badly needed.”
“I have a tremendous amount of optimism,” Snisky said.
I think it’s fair to say there has been a bit of turmoil at the HVCB in recent years, so it’s exciting to hear from a leader with a vision for the future. I look forward to seeing his efforts put into action.
