Corporate travel has a longer planning horizon than individual tourism and one sector of Hawaiʻi’s visitor industry is feeling the pinch.
Though it's a smaller part of the industry, the corporate incentives market punches above its weight in visitor spending.
In 2019, just 146,000 visitors in this sector spent more than $210 million. It’s group travel where companies reward their top performers with an all-expenses-paid destination trip. They can be quite lavish, with entertainers like Bruno Mars or Elton John being flown to the islands for private concerts.
But it’s a market that plans far in advance and is now avoiding the state over the uncertainty of Hawaiʻi's COVID-19 restrictions and when they will end.
Events are a big part of the incentives trip experience, and they just aren’t possible under current rules.
That’s forced local businesses to lay off staff. MC&A has gone from 120 employees to 40. Accel Events & Tents has gone from 148 to 40.
It’s also led to the creation of the Hawaiʻi Events Coalition to advocate for opening up as much as possible while following safe COVID-19 guidelines.
The group’s chair, Rick Schneider, is CEO of Events International. He said Hawaiʻi is losing business now to other locations for future events.
Earlier this year, Hawaii Events Coalition was able to get some relief from Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi on restrictions that had shuttered the wedding industry, but so far, it has been unable to get concessions from Gov. David Ige on rules for large events.
In the meantime, to keep busy, these companies have lent their events expertise to setting up many of the state’s pop-up COVID-19 testing and vaccine facilities.
