Creative Holidays, one of Australia’s leading travel industry wholesalers launched an expanded 09/10 Hawaii program recently in Sydney, in response to the growing demand for Hawaii in the Australian Market.

Creative has a range of Hawaii holidays and options, where a short break or longer stay can be created by selecting the products and options that are on the new Creative Hawaii smorgasbord.

Hawaii has been an old favourite for the Australian traveller, either on the way to the US, or as a holiday in its own right. Trouble is the majority of Australians heading to the ‘Aloha State’ still stay at Waikiki on Oahu Island.  Not that there is anything wrong with this, but it is in the middle of an urban landscape of high-rise and shopping centres, an experience that you no longer need to leave Australia to have.

Also, with so many new white sand beach destinations opening up (deserted or high-rise!), and all much closer to Australia, the traditional images of Diamond Head and Sunset Beach may not be as tempting as they once were.

Many people who live around Surfers Paradise in Queensland will be able to tell you how fabulous the hinterland actually is – but how many visitors actually ever manage to leave the high-rise coast and experience it?

Sydneysiders are well aware of the marvellous options all around the city, such as the Blue Mountains, the Hunter Valley and the Southern Highlands (and all the activities to be found there!), yet how many international visitors must depart thinking that Sydney is Bondi Beach, the harbour, the bridge and the Opera House?

Hawaii has always had a huge array of experiences available both on Oahu and the islands around Oahu. As people are becoming aware that there is much more to Hawaii than Honolulu, Creative Holidays has responded, along with the airlines, who have been steadily increasing the number of flights to Hawaii.

Andrew Yell, General Manager Sales, Marketing and Product [pictured right with Justin Montgomery] said, “Now with the introduction of more flights to Hawaii, and with JetStar in the market, the number of Australians heading to Hawaii to enjoy the year-round surf, sand and sun continues to grow." 

"At the moment, only a small percent of travellers are taking advantage of the great experiences available on the outer islands, offering agents an untapped market to provide a higher level of specialised service to up-sell”.

The 09/10 program has exclusive mini-stay packages, and includes options for cruising, car hire, hotel and apartment accommodation, sightseeing tours and island hopping around Oahu, Maui, Hawaii (Big Island) and Kaui – plus a choice of airlines to fly to Honolulu. Creative has also introduced an extensive range of new hotels in Waikiki, Maui, Hawaii and Kauai.

Additionally, Creative has a customer service office on the ground in Hawaii to assist with holiday questions and tour bookings. This office can provide information on individual islands, activities, services, restaurants, transport, events and attractions.  This is ‘inside information’ from a local.

The aim of the programme is to provide a comprehensive information source and research tool to help consultants and their clients plan their holiday.  The programme also features destination information from Lonely Planet.

Andrew Yell made an interesting point to the mole regarding the mini-stays, due to the way the flights work out from and to Australia, 3 or 4 nights actually works out feeling more like you have had a week off, ie you actually feel that you have had a break!

For those contemplating a longer stay, the average stay is 10 days, covering two islands. Some accommodation products have been designated as ‘spoil yourself’, ie you may like two days in an exclusive hotel during your stay.

Andrew added that Hawaii is great for families; kids can do things like swimming with Dolphins, go to a water park etc, whilst there are amazingly diverse experiences awaiting those who unshackle themselves from Waikiki.

Concluding, Andrew said that there were earlybird sales now around and he believed that the Hawaiian products still offer great value on the ground despite the current financial ups and downs and currency exchange rates.

A Report by the Mole