
Honolulu, Hawaii – December 30, 2009 – Following the success of two promotional bus tours on the U.S. Mainland and Japan earlier this year, Marriott Resorts Hawaii will be hitting the road again, this time across the U.S. Southwest and Midwest.
The 2010 Marriott’s Spirit of Aloha Tour will launch January 19, 2010 in Phoenix and travel across Texas to Atlanta, then back through Charlotte, Nashville, St. Louis, Omaha, Denver and Salt Lake City with a final stop in Los Angeles on February 11-12, 2010.
The 12-city, four-week tour will take Marriott Resorts Hawaii leaders, including general managers and directors of sales and marketing from each of its five resort hotels, to visit with travel partners, groups and media. Performers from the Polynesian Cultural Center will once again be joining the tour to provide Hawaiian entertainment at each stop.
“This campaign aims to encourage mainland groups and residents to travel to the Aloha State in the coming year and stay at one of our beautiful Marriott Resorts in Hawaii,” said Chris Tatum, vice president of Marriott International – North Asia, Hawaii & South Pacific. “We found great success with our original mainland tour earlier this year and we look forward to highlighting the destination of Hawaii once again to new markets.”
The tour will also visit a local Children’s Miracle Network hospital in select cities to entertain and share the aloha spirit with the children and staff. “Marriott has a long-standing partnership with the Children’s Miracle Network throughout the country and we want to show our support as we travel to these cities,” said Tatum. Along with hula performances, Marriott Resorts Hawaii will provide each Children’s Miracle Network hospital they visit with a Hawaiian vacation package for fundraising use.
The 2010 Marriott’s Spirit of Aloha Tour schedule* is as follows:
Marriott is partnering with Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau and Hawaiian Airlines to take the “Spirit of Aloha” tour to the mainland.
Marriott International in Hawaii is represented by five resort hotels on three major islands: JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa, Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, Kauai Marriott Resort & Beach Club, Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa and Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. In addition, there are four Marriott Vacation Club International vacation ownership resorts.
Marriott Resorts Hawaii will also be utilizing its social media networks to provide continuous tour updates. Follow @MarriottHawaii on Twitter, be a fan of Marriott Resorts Hawaii on Facebook or check out the Marriott’s Spirit of Aloha blog at http://marriotthawaii.com/spiritofaloha/
- Aloha -
Editor’s Note: High-resolution images and interviews with Marriott Resorts Hawaii Polynesian Cultural Center representatives are available upon request.
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) is a leading lodging company with more than 3,100 lodging properties in the United States and 66 other countries and territories. Marriott International operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites and Bulgari brand names; develops and operates vacation ownership resorts under the Marriott Vacation Club, Horizons by Marriott Vacation Club, The Ritz-Carlton Club and Grand Residences by Marriott brands; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division; and operates conference centers. The company is headquartered in Bethesda, Md., and had approximately 151,000 employees at 2007 year-end. It is ranked as the lodging industry’s most admired company and one of the best companies to work for by FORTUNE®, and has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the 2007 Sustained Excellence Award and Partner of the Year since 2004. In fiscal year 2007, Marriott International reported sales from continuing operations of $13 billion. For more information or reservations, please visit our web site at www.marriott.com.
For More Information, Contact:
Bernie Caalim or Noreen Kam
McNeil Wilson Communications
1003 Bishop Street, 9th Floor
Honolulu, HI 96813-6429
(808) 741-2609 or (808) 741-2843
E-mail: bernie.caalim@mwc-anthology.com or noreen.kam@mwc-anthology.com