Nearly 4,000 attendees already had registered by midday Wednesday for the two-day Hawai’i Hotel & Restaurant Show, which celebrated its fourth year with about 300 vendors, the event’s largest showing to date.

Within the first few hours of the first day, over 1,100 of the registered attendees had visited the event, featuring exhibitors from Hawaii, the mainland and as far away as Japan.

Mufi Hannemann, Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association president and CEO, said the show’s vendor turnout and attendance indicate that Hawaii can attract large gatherings, an important part of the state’s tourism industry.

He said the show is also a prime example of a successful partnership with the Hawaii Restaurant Association, and with Star Events, a division of Oahu Publications Inc., which publishes the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. The event was also sponsored by Hawaii Gas, Sysco and UHA Health Insurance.

“A few years ago, we were looking for another major partner experienced in putting on large trade shows,” Hannemann said. “With the collaborative leadership of Dennis Francis (president of Oahu Publications and publisher of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser) working with HLTA, we put together the Hawai’i Hotel & Restaurant Show.

“We have demonstrated that it is indeed possible to create a major hospitality show originating from Hawaii. This event also underscores the visitor industry perspective that companies outside of Hawaii can conduct large meetings, conventions, and trade shows in our state.”

On opening day, many attendees and exhibitors expressed high hopes for the future of Hawaii tourism and their businesses, which have found new opportunities to grow as Hawaii’s economy continues its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The event is important because of the diversity of vendors,” said Helene “Sam” Shenkus, vice president and director of marketing for Royal Hawaiian Center. “Yet all have common goals to help people improve customer service, expand their product offerings, or maybe get an edge on the competition. They all get how important it is to a potential customer to explain what they do and to offer a taste. It’s a multisensory event — it’s educational and delicious.”

The event continues today from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Neal Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall. Parking rates apply; however, admission is complimentary to professionals and students in the lodging, travel, hospitality and food service industries including those employed by hotels, restaurants and related service companies. Visit hawaii hotelandrestaurantshow.com to register.

Today’s seminar schedule runs from 10 a.m until 3:45 p.m. Topics include everything from using virtual and augmented reality in tourism to reducing the carbon footprint while reducing energy costs.

Today’s demonstration schedule runs from 10:45 a.m to 1:45 p.m and includes: adding Hawaiian staple crops to menus; sushi robotics; and farm to fork, a discussion about how life on the farm supports customers.

Presenter Elle Gadient came all the way from her family farm in Iowa, the Gadient Family Farm, to share how the support of customers and the Niman Ranch brand have made a difference for her family and the 600 fellow families in the Niman Ranch community.

“Attending this event has a lot of value for me. My family gets energy when they hear about the appreciation that we get for growing quality food,” said Gadient, whose family raises livestock and like all Niman Ranch farms has committed not to use antibiotics, hormones or crates.

The show provides an opportunity for businesses ranging from new companies displaying new products to marquee players in Hawaii to connect with Hawaii’s hospitality and restaurant sectors. It also showcases Pop-up Makeke, a retail collective that sells Hawaii goods and materials. Pop-up Makeke is operated by the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, the nonprofit that was selected in May by the Hawaii Tourism Authority for a $27 million contract to run a destination stewardship program.

Tyler Gomes, chief administrator of CNHA’s tourism-arm, Kilohana, said Kilohana attended the event because it was a business-to-business opportunity to feature locally owned spaces, which play an important role in the Hawaii tourism brand. “It’s crucial that we support one another,” Gomes said.