For most visitors, surfing and other water sports — along with hula at luaus, hiking trails that lead to waterfalls, and pineapple wedges rimming umbrella drinks — are synonymous with Hawaii.
So, it makes sense that the Hawaii Tourism Authority is seeking out an important moment in the global spotlight as surfing makes its debut in the lineup of sporting events at the 2020 games in Tokyo. Leslie Dance, HTA’s vice president of marketing and product development, said: “It’s our sport. It’s our gift to the world. So we want to make sure that we support it.”
And to seize a prime sports tourism opportunity. The opening ceremony of this summer’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro drew 26.5 million television viewers, according to Nielsen. That’s a lot of potential tourists.
HTA’s marketing partner Hawaii Tourism Japan will ask the Olympic Committee to allow Hawaii to highlight surfing at the Tokyo opening ceremony. Waikiki beach boy Duke Kahanamoku, who won Olympic gold in the 100-meter freestyle and silver in the relay in 1912 as well as two gold medals in 1920 and a silver in the 1924 Olympics, is revered as the “father of modern surfing” as he spread its popularity to the mainland and Australia.
Hawaii’s tourism marketing agency, which usually spends the largest chunk of its $9.1 million sports budget on land-based events, will step up its focus on water sports as the 2020 Olympics approaches. And now that the NFL’s Pro Bowl — a tradition in the islands for 30-plus years — has moved to Orlando, Fla., the HTA has put $400,000 of its former Pro Bowl funds into a sports opportunity fund.
The pivot to water sports seems a sure-bet move. But could more showcasing of Hawaii’s surfing waves as well as go-to spots for standup paddling and canoeing touch off a careful-what-you-ask-for lament, as more visitors discover shoreline waters? Some of the state’s top areas for water sports edge communities lacking in infrastructure — from adequate roadways to sewer systems — needed to handle big crowds.
Dance said HTA has no intention of harshing our waterman’s mellow. “We don’t want to encourage overcrowding, particularly of surf areas and ones that are popular with our residents,” she said. For those sorts of reasons, “there’s areas that we don’t actively market.”
New York-based Ascendent Sports Group, which has had a hand in Hawaii’s Ironman Triathlon and Pro Bowl events, now has a $200,000 marketing contract from HTA to draft a sports marketing plan for 2017-2018.
While it likely will include more water sports promotion than prior years, Dance points out that HTA has long supported some water-sports events, such as Duke’s Ocean Fest, which celebrates
Kahanamoku’s life and features several surfing events.
“We’ve always paid attention to water sports … and everything that has to do with our destination and keeping with our brand — brand Hawaii. We support surfing more through a community-based effort,” she said, noting HTA this year gave $150,000 to the amateur Hawaii Surfing Association contests and $200,000 to the Junior Lifeguard program on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and Hawaii island. “That’s been our chosen approach.”
Professional surfing, which began in Hawaii 40 years ago, is “cost-prohibitive for us,” Dance said. Corporate sponsors typically invest in pro surfing competitions such as the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, which is now underway on Oahu’s North Shore.
Last year’s average daily visitor count in the islands was nearly 214,470, with tourists collectively spending an average of more than $41 million a day, according to HTA. With surfing’s popularity continuing to rise and planning for the next Olympics in the works, opportunity abounds to attract more sports tourism events and visitors to the islands.
As HTA grows its marketing efforts, continued attention to quality-of-life matters for residents and the limits of our natural resources will be key in attaining balance and sustainable successes.
