Hawaii Visitors Bureau Goes Double Platinum With Meetings Awards

The HVCB has received two meetings industry awards from its peers. Courtesy of HVCB.

By Sonia Isotov

Meeting industry professionals nationwide have selected the Hawai‘i Visitors and Convention Bureau (HVCB) for the Platinum Choice Award from Smart Meetings magazine and Platinum Partner Award from Incentive magazine.

In a written statement, Michael Murray, the HVCB’s vice president of sales and marketing, credited the HVCB’s earning of the two awards to the teamwork of its Island Chapters and industry partners and the Hawai‘i Convention Center in fulfilling the program objectives of groups while staying within their budget.

Both awards acknowledge high achievement in service excellence for groups and were determined by the voting of the magazines’ readers – meetings industry professionals nationwide.

“Congratulations to the HVCB and our industry partners for the achievement of these prestigious awards,” said Mike McCartney, president and chief executive director of the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA).

“The awards are a testament to their hard work, dedication and professionalism in promoting the Hawaiian Islands as an ideal destination for meetings and incentives travel, and extending their aloha spirit. The HTA remains committed to marketing Hawaii as a global meetings destination and will continue to capitalize on the interest in our state following the success of APEC 2011.”

Smart Meetings magazine determined its Platinum awardees using a variety of criterion, including breadth of resources, guest services, meeting packages, staff attitude, and technical support. Other award honorees included the convention and visitors bureaus for Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Orlando.

Incentive magazine referenced the motivational appeal of the destination, quality of professionalism of the service, and degree of creativity and promotional support in deciding its Platinum winners. Other awardees included convention and visitors bureaus for New York, Boston, Denver, and San Francisco.