 Another version of Hospitality Hawaii, my name is John Kanching, I'm your host. And this will be the fourth installment of a show that I'm privileged to present on the ThinkTechHawaii.com platform, where I invite different mover shakers, business owners, people that are involved in our very important visitor industry to talk about their insights, their experiences, some of their thoughts on what direction that their company or organization is moving into. And maybe some thoughts on how the visitor industry should progress in the future as we kind of come out of this COVID-19 and a recovery plan. I mean, obviously that's a big topic on everybody's mind. But having said that, hey, I am privileged and it's a pleasure to introduce the next guest that will be having a talk story, casual conversation with us this afternoon, a good friend of mine that I've known for a long time and a very valuable person in our industry. I am so pleased that she agreed to be a part of this show. I'd like to introduce Ms. Noerlani, Sheila Wheeler, she's the executive director of the Oahu Visitors Bureau. Welcome Noerlani. Aloha John, aloha kapo. Good, thank you very much for joining us this afternoon. We've got what seems like a long time, 27, 28 minutes but trust me, it'll go very, very quickly because they know people are interested in learning about the Oahu Visitors Bureau. So without further ado, why don't we just get started and maybe Noerlani, you can tell us a little bit about yourself and then we can segue into the Oahu Visitors Bureau itself. So take it away, Noerlani. Sure, who am I? I'm First and foremost a proud alumni of the University of Hawaii School of Travel Industry Management with an emphasis during those days in tourism specifically in tourism management and marketing. I've had the fortune of living in Malaysia, Indonesia and Hawaii places where the people are rich in their culture and the beauty of their land should always be protected places. I have to say that has taught me so much on the importance of place being born from that Aina and the desire to perpetuate and elevate the place for our greatest investment, our children. I'm actually originally from Malaysia, a hapahali but I've lived here for over 30 years, married to a local boy from Maui and raised my family here. After college, I worked at the front desk of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel which was quite the experience at the time and I learned a lot there. I learned a lot about customer service about Aloha and how to really connect with people. After that, I went through a period of going, I moved into a little bit of advertising and media sales then about 23 years ago, I was blessed with a call from my then boss, Les Enderton, to see if I wanted to work at the Oahu Visitors Bureau which is, as you know, John and Island Chapter of the HVCB. I've been there since and took over the helm about four years ago. So I've been really, really blessed. Great, thanks, Nolani. I didn't know you've been there 23 years. I probably met you 23 years ago when you started. But maybe you can share with us because I know a lot of people who are very involved in industry, they have a good understanding what the Oahu Visitors Bureau is but I know that there are a lot of people in and out of the industry that don't quite know. I mean, they've heard of the Oahu Visitors Bureau, OVP but if you can take a few minutes to kind of explain the connection between the Oahu Visitors Bureau, the Hawaii Visitors Bureau, Hawaii Tourism Authority and so forth. How does that all connect to one another? All right, so OVP is what we call an Island Chapter of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau. Essentially, I'm Department 43. If you want to think of it that way, but with a... Like every 51. Yeah, yeah. But you know, there are four Island Chapters that come under the HVCB, Kauai Visitors Bureau, Oahu Visitors Bureau, Maui Visitors Bureau and the Island of Hawaii Visitors Bureau. So we're all part of HVCB who is, as you know, John, contracted by HTA to focus on marketing efforts from directions given by the HTA as to how to promote Hawaii. At OVP, we work closely with our sister islands, the three other Island Chapters, and focus on our... And we all focus specifically on our respective islands. So for me, undoubtedly, my focus, my attention is on this island, the island of Oahu, but I don't work on Oahu separate from everything else. We cannot, you know? It's like family, as you know, John, right? So what do you mean by that? You don't work on Oahu? Well, what I mean by that is my focus is on Oahu, but I have to take into consideration my sister islands and the issues that they're going. We're all interconnected. We're all children in the same family. Yes, we have all... And the mother would be the Hawaii Visitors Bureau? The Convention Bureau. I guess one could say that, although, you know, as kids, we do our own thing as well. No, it's, you know, we cannot... I think that it's important to understand that you cannot be a rebel and go off on your own. You have to work in alignment with your family, right? You have to work and understanding and respecting the issues and concerns that other islands may have, because at the end of the day, it's also the focus is on ensuring that we do what's right in marketing or promoting or managing tourism in the state of Hawaii. So that's where we are connected to HTA. HTA is the government agency that basically contracts HVCB, and along with that, the island chapters and a number of other similar organizations to market and promote the destination in other parts of the world. Okay, so is it a fair statement to say that the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, quote, unquote, the mothership, they set the branding standards overall for the destination. They set, they kind of set the direction and then each of the island chapters take that direction and tailor it to specifically focus on their island. Is that too general a statement? Yeah, I would say the direction actually comes from HTA, but they are the one who provides the objectives, the directions, they are there to ensure that we understand the direction of both managing and marketing needs to take. And then each of our respective organizations, and I'm including the other global tourism teams under HTA that are contracted for other destinations, we all then are then take that direction. And those objectives and create sound marketing plans that fit that with the approval of HTA. Okay, so let's just say somebody like Jay Tawar. Yeah. He's the senior vice president of marketing, whatever his title is. I mean, obviously it's a high level title. Deservedly, he's the primary marketing guru for the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau. How does his research and his direction from his team, how does that influence what you do on the island chapter level? It's very important. Jay brings to us a brand for the destination. He works on the island branding with us through data and research that we collected or he's collected. And he creates campaigns around those and from those sound campaigns, we join his efforts in ensuring that they fit and they're correct with our specific islands. So we help them, for example, and when we're looking for ambassadors that the ambassadors are specifically from Oahu and can speak to the issues of Oahu. So we collaborate is what I would say each island chapter ensures, I like to kind of think of us as sort of stewards of our island tourism brand. So even with the international contractors, our role is also to make sure that whatever they put out internationally is aligned with what HTA has put forth, but is also correct and authentic and point out to what our island is dealing with or what we need to be showcasing. We're not showcasing, you know, because very, to be honest with you, there are a lot of things that we don't wanna showcase of our island and preserve those. Okay, so not specific to the Oahu visitors' bureau, but how would someone say whether it's the Maui visitor's bureau or Oahu visitor, how would someone say they're doing a great job? Is it from visitor account, visitor expenditure? How would you grade yourself or how would people grade the performance of the island chapters? I think once upon a time, it was graded by the number of maybe not so much the number of visitors, but particularly the TAT tax that came in to the state. That may be at a higher level at once upon a time as to how things were graded. I think we also, from a marketing standpoint, we are graded on when we put forth a plan, a marketing plan, and we say we're going to accomplish this, so many eyeballs, that's what the KPIs of our actual marketing plan, that's truly what we're graded on. But from an overall state perspective, I do wanna say that once upon a time, it was the numbers. I think that we're at a pivot where that may be changing and it's not a bad thing. I think it's actually a healthy evolution of our industry and our community as well, you know? So I'm a, let's take a hypothetical situation. I'm a hotel director of sales and marketing or I work with an attraction or a transportation company. How do I interface with the Oahu visitors world? Are there programs out there that I can get more advertising in the market? Because after all is said and done, I mean, you're a marketing organization, right? As is the Hawaii Visitors and Prevention Bureau, as is kind of like the HDA. So as an individual business, if I'm a big company like a major hotel brand, I have resources, right? But let's just say I'm in an independent hotel. You know, I'm not associated with a big brand or I'm a small transportation company that does shuttles or I'm a small little shopping center. How do I best take advantage of the marketing efforts that the Oahu Visitors Bureau has out there? I think first and foremost, because we're also a membership organization, it really does help to become a member of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau because then you're a bit more top of mind in the sense of we look through you and communication is constant with you. So that you're first aware of what we are doing and how you can engage with us. We try very hard. We are a very small team these days, John. There's only four of us at the Oahu Visitors Bureau. So we've got to really pick a punch. And it's important that we do. That's what we're supposed, we should be doing. And where as best we can, we try to reach out to the industry and also not only industry, but nonprofits and certain organizations as well to better understand how we can collaborate. So if you're a small business, for example, being able to reach out to us and you want to engage with us, our doors are never shut. We try to connect with you and at least share with you what we're doing, what we have available. And we try to understand what your business and what your objectives are so that we can see if there's a fit. Because no point in wasting anybody's time if you don't feel you're going to be a fit, you should know and say, okay, that was great, but that doesn't fit what I need and vice versa. Or we have a discussion where we can say, well, how do we collaborate? And so a lot of our activities, sales and marketing does include a lot of smaller businesses by virtue of that process. So I've had the privilege over the years and thanks to you and your predecessor, Les, to be on the Oahu Visitors Bureau for the directors. And I've always found it to be very fulfilling, informative, insightful. But maybe you can share a little bit about the Oahu Visitors Bureau for the directors and what are you striving to do by creating this board? You can talk about that for a minute or so. Sure. So like any board, I think our board is an advisory board. So we look to them to really give us input on what's happening in the industry because not one organization can know everything. Not one person can know everything. So by having this board, it allows us to gauge what trends are happening, what's going on, what concerns are happening within the industry, as well as outside the industry. So we actually attempt very hard, we work very hard at trying to put a board together that really represents different areas of the island. I think it's very important. John, when I first started at the Oahu Visitors Bureau, I remember one, my first week, I got several calls, right? Aloha, I'm coming to the island, Oahu Ki Ki. Oh my God. And so that was actually one of the first things we, the Oahu Visitors Bureau we wanted to change is we needed to put Oahu in her rightful place as a Hawaiian island. And so the board has to reflect that, right? We need folks from the North Shore, West Side, not just Honolulu and Waikiki, but of course there we need folks from different sectors where we can, because a lot of times folks think about the industry and they just focus right on airlines and hotels. They forget about the activities and the experiences. They forget about the ground transportation folks. They forget about the retailers and the restaurants that all make up part of or whether directly or indirectly make up the industry. So we try to layer a number of those folks. So for example, on our current board, we have Tina Yamaki from Retail Merchants of Hawaii, so that we can get that perspective into the conversation and she can advise us and collaborate with us in making us understand what they're going through. She always has great ideas and she does as well, right? From her experience with HLTA and other organizations. Right. Great addition. Yeah, so we try to have as wide of a net. And then I have to admit that because it is the Oahu Visitors Bureau, it is a board that is industry specific. And as you know, John, we're working on with HTA on the Oahu Destination Management Action Plans and there's a steering committee, which I'm excited about because in that steering committee we were able to throw our nets a little wider in including communities, voices and other stakeholders. So good segue to that, Noelani. If I might, I'm gonna mention a little bit about what my knowledge is of the DMAP or the Destination Management Activity Plan. But I went online to the Hawaii Tourism Authority website. Yeah. The Hawaii Tourism Authority through the years, obviously have put together long-term strategic plans. The latest one is a six-year strategic plan that covers from 2020 all the way through 2025. So now this Destination Management Activity Plan, each island is developing their own. And if I might, you know, when I looked at the purpose of the plan as a state, it says rebuild, redefine, reset tourism direction for a three-year period. So a couple of questions. One, have any of the islands finished their DMAP plans and where does Oahu stand at that? Okay, so the other three counties, it's done by counties, working with HTA and the respective island chapters and the counties have completed their plans. Oahu is the last Destination Management Action Plan to be worked on. And part of the reason Oahu was the last of the four is because we wanted to make sure that when we set this in motion, we were setting this in motion with our new mayor because, you know, that expression, it takes a village to raise a child. Well, it's the same thing, right? The private industry cannot do it on its own, HTA cannot do it on its own, community cannot do its own, it's a collaboration. And so we wanted to ensure that the new mayor, as we know Mayor Blanjardi and his administration were part of this and can commit to it, you know, and help us move these action plans forward. So that's where we are. So Oahu was actually in the process of getting their DMAPs done. And the Dean, yeah, sorry. So we have a, interesting, so we have a couple of questions that viewers have related and it's great. So somebody's watching live, but we only have about 10 minutes or so, nine minutes. See, I told you how quickly this time was, right? So I want to stick on the destination management action plan because it's so important. So probably a little bit about who's involved in that steering committee that you mentioned, each of the counties had set up. And I believe there's some public forums coming up really shortly, right? So maybe you could talk about those. Yeah, so let me reframe the intent to, okay, of the DMAP or what we, destination management action plans shortened to DMAP. So the intent of the DMAP is to come up with key action plans that can be implemented to manage tourism on Oahu and in each county, because we do know that each county has their own set of concerns and issues. So we didn't want to, HTA did, when I say we, it's HTA didn't want to blanket one DMAP for all islands because every county has different issues. So we wanted- Which it had done previously, right? Yeah. With their previous strategic plan to kind of encompass everybody in one plan. Right. Where this is probably makes a lot of sense, right? So that you mentioned each county has their own needs and their own growing pains and their own concerns about future growth. Exactly. The other plan was more of an umbrella and these become more specific. And it's really to mitigate issues and concerns by the county's residents or community, Hawaiian cultural community and the environmental community. These action plans, I do want to make it clear they are not marketing in nature. You know, they are really there to determine the start of a process that allows us to have a, an engagement and a collaboration with stakeholders from all areas. You know, a few, several years ago, 10 years ago, there was the term sustainable tourism. Then it moved into an understanding of responsible tourism that encompassed a lot of other communities. And we're now in the next phase of responsible tourism and regenerative tourism. And I bring this up because I think it's important to understand that what DMAP is trying to do is to get the voices of different folks within the industry and outside of the industry. And of course here in Hawaii, the Hawaiian culture and our natural assets are so important. So those communities need to have a voice. But so do our residents because of the, the over-tourism issues that has plagued the world pre-pandemic. So that's where the DMAP was really is I'm excited about because I think it's high time that we need to have this conversation. So coming back to your other, your question about the steering committee. So similarly, it had to have representative from industry and non-industry, different stakeholders and stakeholders from different areas of the island. So we have someone from the North Shore. We have folks on the West side. We have folks from the cultural community, Hawaiian cultural community. We have folks from the ag sector, from labor. So it's a mix. And these folks have worked so very, very hard. John, you know, it's not easy. And I am really impressed with this group because I think that their heart is in it in wanting to make this pivotal necessary change and work with the industry in doing that. Okay, no, I mean, we've got about three minutes left. Yes. So I'm going to ask you a couple of things. One, talk a little bit about those sessions coming up, I believe on May 4th, May 5th. And then maybe your thoughts on, okay, so once the plan is developed, maybe I'm taking a kind of jaded look at this, right? But people spend a lot of time and energy on plans and they look great and they get put on the shelf and maybe not looked at that often. So how is this going to be different, right? People will be held accountable for it. So yeah, so what's happening on May 4th and 5th? May 4th from 11 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. And then again, May 5th from 5.30 p.m. to 8 p.m. but these action plans, the draft, and I need to stress that the draft action plans will be presented publicly. So I really encourage folks to join. Listen to me. How can they get on that, that all of that? What I can do, John, if that's okay, is it possible for me to send you the link and it be shared with your viewers? Yeah, maybe we can put it on the thinktactkawaii.com website or maybe they can just, would they contact the HTA or? Yeah, yes, they could. They can contact the HTA for information on that link. And I think you have to register because I got an email and I've registered for one of them. So I think that's probably the best spot, right? That's the best way. Hawaii Tourism Authority website. Right. So I would, like I said, encourage people to join because I really want folks to listen, to think, review what is shared, and to provide some positive feedback on how we can improve these actions before they are finalized. And again, this is our opportunity to really throw that net a little bit wider and have folks really think about how this important industry needs to move forward and how can they help us through their comments and their feedback in improving those action plans because this committee has worked so hard but it's important that we do. To the second question you have, and I know we're running out of time, you're absolutely right. And I really, really do hope that this does not be put, this is not going to be put on the shelf. But there is a commitment by HTA to launch these action plans and try to implement and get them moving within three years with resources put behind them. And this is where it was important to bring in our counties because they've got to come in, the state has to come in, and then to spread that net and include the community into those conversations. Right, we've probably been coming upon everybody, right? And even if you're not in the steering committee, but individuals like yourself, even me, other people who are stakeholders in the industry or in the community to keep asking that questions, right? You know, are we following the DMAP and what's the progress so far? Yeah, and I think the biggest difference, John, is that a lot of times with the other plans, most of the public, most of us did not, may not have known about them happening. This one is a lot more encompassing and collaborative in nature. And I know it's a hard process and I wanna leave this with you is these action plans are not a fix at all. They are a start to really pivoting what we do with our home, you know? And I call that seriously our home and how we want to balance between jobs, job creation, diversification of economies, improving our industry, but simultaneously respecting and protecting cultures, communities and our natural assets because they are assets that the industry can't survive without and vice versa. Okay. Well, I don't think anyone could have said it better than you just did. And that's the primary reason I wanted to get you on this show, Noelani. Thank you. So we've run out of time. You have been fantastic sharing, you know, what the Oahu Visitors Bureau is and just as important, sharing with the viewers, whether they're live streaming or we'll view it later about how important the DMAP is and get involved and register for the May 4th or May 5th draft review. So with that, I'd like to say thank you very much, Noelani, for joining us, being our guest, Noelani, Executive Director, Oahu Visitors Bureau. This has been Hospitality in Hawaii. My name is John Conching and log in. You can go to the ThinkTechHawaii.com website and check out this session or any of the other sessions. And stay tuned. We'll be on two Tuesdays from now, 1 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time. Aloha. Thank you, Noelani. Mahalo, John. Mahalo, everyone.