Hawaiʻi’s Tourism Summit Focuses on Sustainability, Global Trends, and Culture

The Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority’s Hawaiʻi’s Global Tourism Summit takes place Oct. 1-3, 2018 at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center in Honolulu. The summit will focus on sustainability, global trends, and culture for Hawaiʻi’s tourism future.

Throughout the event, these three areas of focus will be addressed by a variety of speakers, panelists and attendees from around the world and the Hawaiian Islands.

The conference theme, “Charting the Course,” will focus on the power of tourism’s global popularity with its local impact on residents and communities.

George D. Szigeti, HTA president and CEO, noted that embracing sustainable tourism, understanding global tourism trends, and honoring cultural tourism are vital components to advancing the economic and socio-political benefits of travel to residents, communities and visitors everywhere.

Szigeti said, “For tourism to work successfully for everyone’s benefit, everyone needs to make their voice heard and work collectively toward achieving a shared goal of doing what’s best and what’s right for both those who depend on tourism and those affected by its impact on daily lives. The Global Tourism Summit is the year’s best opportunity to bring together everyone with a stake or interest in tourism to gain a better understanding about its future and to share their perspective on how its business, practice and policies can be improved.”

A range of tourism-related topics and forums will be covered during the event’s duration:

• On the summit’s opening day, Hawaiʻi and international high school students will participate in debates over the impact of artificial intelligence on the visitor experience.
• The second day will feature concurrent sessions that will address sustainable tourism, global tourism trends and cultural tourism. These sessions will provide attendees an opportunity to participate in discussions matching their areas of interest.
• On the final day, the morning will start with an updated outlook on airline and cruise service to the Hawaiian Islands. Afterwards speakers from Las Vegas and Japan address the response to major crisis situations that recently affected those destinations in the talk Crisis Management, Lessons Learned.

Szigeti said, “The summit will be of value to anyone who cares about the future direction tourism takes and the impact it has on economies, cultures and personal lives. I encourage everyone with an interest in tourism to join us at the summit and be part of the discussion about its future.”

The registration deadline for the Global Tourism Summit is Sept. 25, 2018 at 11:55 p.m.

The HTA encourages any business or individual interested in tourism’s future to register, network and share their opinions.

Special events at the summit include:

• Networking Reception on October 1
• The Aloha Reception – with cuisine provided by 20 restaurants – on October 2
• The Tourism Legacy Awards Lunch on October 3