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You have to give aloha to get it
By Blake Jones - The Garden Island
You have to be obsessed with giving aloha before you can ever expect to receive it.
Rosa Say, author of “Managing with Aloha,” wasn’t exactly offering that message for consideration at the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau annual membership meeting Friday. To be accurate, she challenged the 200 or so visitor industry leaders to live it.
The Big Island resident works full time as a leadership and executive coach to help people find the “fragile and elusive” thing called aloha spirit. But she is uninterested in explaining its definition — you already know what it is, she told the audience. Instead, Say focused on why it seems absent from today’s Hawai‘i: It’s not because people don’t know what aloha means, but because people hold out on giving because they don’t feel they receive it from others.
“To get it, to have it, to have it wash all over you and transform your life, you have to be obsessed with giving it — that is the only way you get it,” said the petite powerhouse.
Despite a growing list of reasons that make sharing aloha difficult, Say stressed to the audience that it must be a permanent shift in attitude, starting with the individual.
“You gotta go first,” she said. And by focusing on your own circle of influence, Say said aloha can be a powerful catalyst for change.
Her message complimented the focus of the annual meeting, which started with a video about how a little extra effort can provide drastically different results. In light of 2007’s difficulties — from a worker and affordable housing shortage to the flattening visitor growth trend — Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau Executive Director Sue Kanoho asked that the visitor industry professionals at the meeting take the message to heart.
“We’re really aware of some of the challenges we’re facing right now,” Kanoho said.
On the subject of Kaua‘i’s challenges, Wade Lord, chairman of the KVB board of directors, said respectful dialogue is as important as ever.
“We can’t let these new colonists take our values and change our discussion with their disrespectful approach,” he said.
But the event also recognized the organization’s accomplishments and contributions, such as giving back more than $671,000 in 2007. KVB also recently acquired $100,000 from Hawai‘i Tourism Authority for community outreach. And it will soon offer a $1,000 grant to a student from Kaua‘i High School’s Academy of Hospitality and Tourism.
A major milestone for KVB this year was the completion of its strategic plan. The focus, said Lord, is on guarding Kaua‘i’s resources — a rich history, cultural diversity, natural beauty and dynamic people — while preserving its market share.
Working in this direction, publicity efforts in 2008 will target activity-oriented, longer-staying visitors. Patrick Dugan, publicist for McNeil Wilson Communications, said marketing will aim to capitalize on new direct flights to Kaua‘i from the Pacific Northwest as well as the right audience: “savvy travelers who want to nurture Kaua‘i’s environment.”
This year through October, annual visitors to Kaua‘i are up 6.3 percent and spending is up 5.2 percent. Domestic arrivals increased by 7.4 percent, while international arrivals are down 5.3 percent.
Rosa Say, author of “Managing with Aloha,” wasn’t exactly offering that message for consideration at the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau annual membership meeting Friday. To be accurate, she challenged the 200 or so visitor industry leaders to live it.
The Big Island resident works full time as a leadership and executive coach to help people find the “fragile and elusive” thing called aloha spirit. But she is uninterested in explaining its definition — you already know what it is, she told the audience. Instead, Say focused on why it seems absent from today’s Hawai‘i: It’s not because people don’t know what aloha means, but because people hold out on giving because they don’t feel they receive it from others.
“To get it, to have it, to have it wash all over you and transform your life, you have to be obsessed with giving it — that is the only way you get it,” said the petite powerhouse.
Despite a growing list of reasons that make sharing aloha difficult, Say stressed to the audience that it must be a permanent shift in attitude, starting with the individual.
“You gotta go first,” she said. And by focusing on your own circle of influence, Say said aloha can be a powerful catalyst for change.
Her message complimented the focus of the annual meeting, which started with a video about how a little extra effort can provide drastically different results. In light of 2007’s difficulties — from a worker and affordable housing shortage to the flattening visitor growth trend — Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau Executive Director Sue Kanoho asked that the visitor industry professionals at the meeting take the message to heart.
“We’re really aware of some of the challenges we’re facing right now,” Kanoho said.
On the subject of Kaua‘i’s challenges, Wade Lord, chairman of the KVB board of directors, said respectful dialogue is as important as ever.
“We can’t let these new colonists take our values and change our discussion with their disrespectful approach,” he said.
But the event also recognized the organization’s accomplishments and contributions, such as giving back more than $671,000 in 2007. KVB also recently acquired $100,000 from Hawai‘i Tourism Authority for community outreach. And it will soon offer a $1,000 grant to a student from Kaua‘i High School’s Academy of Hospitality and Tourism.
A major milestone for KVB this year was the completion of its strategic plan. The focus, said Lord, is on guarding Kaua‘i’s resources — a rich history, cultural diversity, natural beauty and dynamic people — while preserving its market share.
Working in this direction, publicity efforts in 2008 will target activity-oriented, longer-staying visitors. Patrick Dugan, publicist for McNeil Wilson Communications, said marketing will aim to capitalize on new direct flights to Kaua‘i from the Pacific Northwest as well as the right audience: “savvy travelers who want to nurture Kaua‘i’s environment.”
This year through October, annual visitors to Kaua‘i are up 6.3 percent and spending is up 5.2 percent. Domestic arrivals increased by 7.4 percent, while international arrivals are down 5.3 percent.
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infomaniac wrote on Nov 13, 2008 5:55 PM: