HTA awards brand management contract to Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, the state agency responsible for holistically managing tourism, has awarded a new contract for a comprehensive range of brand management and visitor education services to the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.

The contract is for the Hawaiian Islands in the United States market, as well as support services shared by Hawai‘i’s brand management teams worldwide.

Kūhiō Lewis, President and CEO of CNHA said, “The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement is humbled that the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority entrusted us as the entity to deliver the change that Hawai‘i has long demanded of our visitor industry.  We understand there remains a process in place, and we will follow HTA’s lead in the days ahead to preserve the integrity of that process.”

HTA issued a Request for Proposal for the United States market on April 15. A list of finalists was determined, and presentations were made to an evaluation committee comprised of HTA, community and industry leaders.

In addition to the in-market activities contracted in previous periods, this Request For Proposals (RFP 22-01) included coordination, communication, and promotion in Hawaiʻi for initiatives produced by the community through the Destination Management Action Plans. It also included support services for Hawaiʻi’s official travel website, app, social media channels, and creative content used worldwide for branding and visitor education.

HTA will negotiate a multi-year contract with the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement which will commence on June 30, 2022, and will end on December 31, 2024, with HTA having the option to extend the agreement for an additional two years.