Hawaii government officials and tourism marketers have launched a $2 million campaign to boost vacation business across the Islands, hoping to combat trip cancellations and slumping statewide travel demand after the March Kona low storms.
Funding for the Hawaii Demand Acceleration Marketing Plan was released earlier this month by Governor Josh Green to the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), which will work in partnership with the Hawaii Visitors and Conventions Bureau (HVCB) to roll out the campaign’s advertising, newsroom and social media objectives through the end of June this year.
“These funds are about supporting Hawaii’s economy, local businesses and the people who depend on the visitor industry for their livelihoods,” Governor Green said in a May 7 statement. “We want visitors to know that Hawaii warmly welcomes them and that their visits help fuel our recovery.”
Many businesses on Oahu’s North Shore have been suffering since the Kona low storms this March.
Photo Credit: 2026 Hawaii Tourism Authority
Lingering Concerns
Hawaii suffered an estimated loss of more than $300 million in tourism revenue this March due to the back-to-back Kona low storms that brought severe weather and extensive flooding to the state during the month, according to James Kunane Tokioka, director of the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), who worked with Green and state tourism stakeholders to secure funding for the newly announced marketing campaign.
Caroline Anderson, the HTA’s interim president and CEO, said national news coverage and viral social media videos featuring flooding caused by the Kona low storms created substantial uncertainty about travel to Hawaii during the destination’s critical spring break period, and that has since spilled into summer.
“Travelers who had every reason to visit began holding back,” Anderson said. “And families and small businesses on the North Shore of Oahu, and across Hawaii, felt that directly.”
Many businesses on Oahu’s North Shore have been suffering since the Kona low storms this March.
Photo Credit: 2026 Hawaii Tourism AuthorityCarol Philips, president of the North Shore Chamber of Commerce, says “virtually all of the businesses” on Oahu’s North Shore were impacted by the far-reaching news and social media coverage of the storms, and she said revenue has since plunged roughly 70% year over year.
“It really hurt us, and we're still hurting,” Philips said. “Spring break is a big time out here, and people just started canceling.”
Philips also owns North Shore Surf Girls — an Oahu-based activity provider that operates at Puaena Point and Chun’s Reef on the North Shore — and she says the impact of Kona low coverage was “devastating” for her business.
“A lot of people canceled their summer plans,” Philips said. “They were thinking, ‘Well, we don't know what it's going to be like or even if [the North Shore] is going to have recovered by then.’”
New Messaging
Philips is hopeful that the newly announced $2 million Hawaii marketing campaign will help change the narrative.
“We're trying to get people to understand the North Shore is open, our waters are crystal blue, our beaches are uncrowded and our restaurants are excellent,” she said. “It really is a wonderful place, and we want to bring people back through it to keep our little towns thriving.”
The HTA’s Anderson mentioned, meanwhile, that the campaign is focusing on a specific traveler.
“Someone already considering Hawaii for summer travel who hasn't booked yet,” she said. “In key feeder markets on the West Coast, where the opportunity to move bookings is strongest.”
HVCB officials said the Hawaii Demand Acceleration Marketing Plan will feature wholesaler co-op advertising campaigns, as well as amplified digital search and new social media content, linking viewers to special offers available across the islands. [Hawaiispecialoffers.com]
Earlier this week, the HVCB also launched a satellite media tour, making community voices from Oahu’s North Shore — including representatives from Waimea Valley, Kahuku Farms and The Ritz-Carlton Oahu Turtle Bay — available for interviews broadcast from newsrooms across key U.S. markets.
Travel trade is also a critical audience, according to HVCB officials, who mentioned new and regular updates on Hawaii’s travel advisor database, as well as new trade-focused LinkedIn content.
“This investment gives travel advisors concrete tools to share the full picture with clients,” Anderson said. “That includes co-op programs and curated offers with major wholesalers and a steady stream of real, current stories about what visitors will experience when they arrive.”
