The Hawai‘i Visitors &Convention Bureau, a more than century-old member of Hawaii’s visitor industry, has for years shaped how visitors think of Hawaii and how residents perceive tourism.

Now the HVCB is becoming more intentional about how it thinks about itself by embarking on its first major strategic plan in decades, with a focus on identifying diversification opportunities beyond its largest Hawai‘i Tourism Authority contracts.

The retirement Friday of Jay Talwar, HVCB’s chief marketing officer and senior vice president, began a pivotal time for the bureau. Talwar, who spent 21 years at HVCB, directed several of the Hawaii destination’s most memorable marketing campaigns, including the three most recent, which helped usher in Hawaii tourism’s current destination stewardship model.

The “Hawai‘i Rooted” campaign showcased the destination’s deep cultural connections; the transformative “Malama Hawai‘i” initiative inspired visitors to take part in caring for the islands; and, most recently, “The People. The Place. The Hawaiian Islands” uplifted local musicians, lei makers, chefs, and fashion designers.

“I’ve always approached this as I’ve got to learn something here, and there was so much opportunity to learn. I’ve been certain of things and then listened and learned and realized that I needed to evolve,” Talwar said. “I remember sitting in the convention center (around 2019) with our team and the HTA team and discussing what we wanted tourism to be and just real clearly understanding that tourism first and foremost had to be good for the people, the host.”

Aaron J. Sala, HVCB president and CEO, will integrate Talwar’s duties into the role he assumed Sept. 1. Sala said as part of the strategic planning, he will spearhead the private membership-­based organization’s efforts to diversify beyond its high-volume HTA contracts, which in recent years are far below previous funding peaks.

“Our partnership with the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority remains central to our mission, and HVCB’s status as a private nonprofit allows us to develop forward-thinking initiatives that strengthen our industry while creating new pathways for growth and revenue generation for our organization,” Sala said. “These new opportunities leverage our current talents in data analytics and interpretation, cutting-edge digital marketing and tailored and strategic consultation. Engaging all our stakeholders, we are currently working toward an updated strategic plan.”

Sean Dee, chair of the HVCB board, said Friday that the HVCB made a commitment to the HTA in March 2o23 to pursue significant changes to its structure and leadership team and develop a long-range strategic plan, which HVCB’s board of directors is expected to approve later this year.

“HVCB has enjoyed a long history as one of the most successful destination marketing organizations in the world, supporting its primary client, HTA, evolve as well as champion a regenerative tourism model that is a pioneering model for other destinations to study and emulate, ” Dee said. “But HVCB is also blessed to operate as a private nonprofit, allowing the organization the flexibility to develop alternative revenue streams and leverage its broader commercial team’s expertise in digital marketing, intellectual property development, research, sponsorship, sports tourism and branding as well as experience in this diversified approach from leaders like our Chief Operating Officer Tom Mullen, who honed these skills during his tenure on the leadership team at LA Tourism.”

He said the HVCB under Karen Wataru Nakaoka has grown its membership to over 1,300 organizations representing hotels, resorts, restaurants, destination management companies, retailers and activity providers. Dee said Nakaoka’s team already this year has added 121 new members.

“Obviously, the relationship with HTA is paramount to our success and long-term planning, but the membership scale drives real value for our organization,” Dee said.

From the start of HTA’s creation by the state Legislature in 1998, the HVCB had always been its dominant contractor. But the HVCB became less dominant in 2022 when the HTA, in the wake of two flawed procurements for a U.S. tourism contractor, decided to split the business.

The HTA awarded HVCB a contract in May 2023 for marketing and branding for its top U.S. market. It was worth $38.4 million for the initial 2-1/2-year term with an option for one two-year extension.

The HTA selected the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement’s tourism arm Kilohana for a destination stewardship contract worth more than $27.1 million for an initial 2-1/2-year term with an option for two one-year extensions.

From the start, Kilohana’s tourism plans extended beyond HTA. Experience Kilohana, which is not part of the HTA contract, includes the Kilohana Hula Show, presented by Southwest Airlines. Experience Kilohana also offers Na Lei Aloha, a paid Waikiki luau.