The latest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue hit the stands Monday with 22 pages of models photographed on Kauai, coverage that the island’s visitor bureau says is worth an estimated $8.8 million in publicity.
Kauai County and the Kauai Visitors Bureau paid Sports Illustrated roughly $70,000 to secure the spring shoot, which featured about 10 of the island’s most iconic destinations.
"This promotion far exceeded my expectations. We were guaranteed up to 10 pages, but we’ve got 22 pages, with 23 images," said Sue Kanoho, executive director of the Kauai Visitors Bureau, who is in New York for SwimCity, the magazine’s swimsuit edition kickoff. "Tying into a brand like Sports Illustrated is good for Hawaii. These photos are teasers that encourage people to visit Hawaii."
Featured in shoots were Kee Beach, Kekaha Beach, Mahaulepu Beach, Makua Beach, Moloaa Fruit Stand, National Tropical Botanical Garden, Polihale Beach, Smith’s Tropical Paradise, Waimea Beach and Waimea Canyon.
The St. Regis Princeville Resort also provided in-kind support with special rate accommodations for the crew.
Kanoho said the edition is expected to reach 62 million people in the U.S. alone and will generate exposure in 10 other countries and online.
"The magazine and book also have a long shelf life," Kanoho said. "We’ll also reach hundreds of millions of people online because the coverage stays up for a whole year. We’ll be included in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit microsite, Swimdaily.com, and we’ll be featured in mobile and tablet downloads."
Additionally, Kanoho said a location video showing the scenery of Kauai also will be posted online, and Kauai will be included in a five-part Travel Channel series about the photo shoots.
Controversy over this year’s cover, which depicts 24-year-old Hannah Davis in a low-slung, ultratiny bikini bottom, could draw further interest. While Kanoho said Hawaii is not featured on the cover, she said the isles are prominent among other featured destinations such as Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Florida’s Captiva Island.
"We’ve also built long-lasting relationships with the Sports Illustrated production crew and the models, Hailey Clauson, Emily DiDonato, Gigi Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski and Irina Shayk," Kanoho said. "The partnerships that we’ve developed will live far into the future. They’ll come back, and we’ll be glad to see them again."
Grove Farm Co. land was used for some of the photo and video backdrops, as was a waterfall in the McBryde Garden.
