
HONOLULU – January 17, 2011 – With a brightly colored tour bus carrying exotic hula dancers, celebrity Chef Mark Ellman of Hawaii Regional Cuisine fame and a message to visit the Islands, Marriott's Spirit of Aloha Tour kicked off its third U.S. promotional tour in Los Angeles this morning.
The month-long traveling road show will bring the vibrant sights and sounds of Hawaii to 11 U.S. cities. In all, the Tour will be traveling more than 5,300 miles from Los Angeles, up the West Coast with stops in the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle, then across to Minneapolis and Chicago before heading southwest to Omaha, Denver and the final destinations of Dallas and Houston, TX.
"We are hitting the road again to bring the spirit of aloha to our friends on the U.S. mainland and encourage travel to the Hawaiian Islands in the coming year," said Chris Tatum, vice president of Marriott Resorts Hawaii. "With our partners Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, Polynesian Cultural Center and Hawaiian Airlines, we hope to remind leisure travelers and groups that Hawaii is a great place for business and pleasure, and we're willing to work with them on the ultimate Hawaiian trip."
Marriott's Spirit of Aloha Tour will be visiting Children's Miracle Network (CMN) hospitals in many of the cities to provide an hour of entertainment and warm cheer to patients, families and staff. Marriott International is a longtime corporate sponsor of CMN.
"We had a wonderful time at the hospitals on our last tour and seeing the joy on the faces of the children and their parents," said Tatum. "We're excited to once again be partnering with Children's Miracle Network and providing the hospitals with Hawaiian vacation packages that they can use for fund-raising purposes."
Traveling on the bus will be Marriott Resorts Hawaii leaders, including general managers and directors of sales and marketing from each of its resort hotels, who will be visiting with travel partners, groups and media. Performers from the Polynesian Cultural Center will be providing Hawaiian entertainment at each stop.
Renowned Hawaii Regional Cuisine Chef Mark Ellman will join the 2011 tour as the ambassador of aloha in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle. Ellman is co-owner of Mala Wailea restaurant, located at the oceanfront Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa on Maui. Along with being a celebrity chef, Ellman has co-authored a new book called "Practice Aloha: Secrets to Living Life Hawaiian Style," which shares stories, recipes and lyrics from a variety of people including rock star Alice Cooper. 2011 also marks the 20th anniversary of Hawaii Regional Cuisine, a culinary blend of Hawaii's ethnic flavors, which Ellman created with 11 other acclaimed chefs.
Hawaiian Airlines, which has partnered in all four of Marriott's road tours, provides daily nonstop flights between Los Angeles and Honolulu, as well as other West Coast cities, and is the main carrier around the Hawaiian Islands.
The 11-city, four-week 2011 Marriott's Spirit of Aloha Tour schedule* is as follows:
Marriott International in Hawaii is represented by five resort hotels on four major islands: JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa, Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, Kauai Marriott Resort, 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 updates from the road. Follow @MarriottHawaii on Twitter, "like" Marriott Resorts Hawaii on Facebook or check out the Marriott's Spirit of Aloha Tour blog at http://marriotthawaii.com/spiritofaloha/
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Editor’s Note: High-resolution images and interviews with Marriott Resorts Hawaii executives and Chef Mark Ellman are available upon request.
MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC. (NYSE:MAR) is a leading lodging company with more than 3,500 lodging properties in 70 countries and territories. Marriott International operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, The Autograph Collection, 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, The Ritz-Carlton Destination Club, and Grand Residences by Marriott brands; licenses and manages whole-ownership residential brands, including The Ritz-Carlton Residences, JW Marriott Residences and Marriott Residences; operates Marriott Executive Apartments; provides furnished corporate housing through its Marriott ExecuStay division; and operates conference centers. The company is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, and had approximately 137,000 employees at 2009 year-end. It is recognized by FORTUNE® as one of the best companies to work for, and by Newsweek as one of the greenest big companies in America. In fiscal year 2009, Marriott International reported sales from continuing operations of nearly $11 billion. For more information or reservations, please visit our web site at www.marriott.com, and for the latest company news, visit www.marriottnewscenter.com.
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