Travel Factory Blog

Visit Hawaii - Napali Coast with the Travel Factory

Just this past week, I had some folks come by for a visit and ask me where was I planning on taking a group in 2021. I hadn't totally thought about it much, except for the fact that I already had planned on taking a group back to the Holy Land in March of 2021, and we had planned to take a group on Viking's brand new ship, the Viking Venus to the British Isles in August of 2021. On both of those we have folks who have been very wise and made reservations already to go with us; wise because planning early makes sure you get on and not left behind wishing you had “pulled the trigger” earlier.

Group Travel with The Travel Factory

We get requests all the time regarding our interest and capability to handle groups---athletic teams, high school groups, musical groups, church groups, family travel, you name it. Generally speaking, we always answer with a big YES!!! In fact, that's where I cut my teeth in travel. 

Hawaii - Here We Come - The Travel Factory

Frequently we have folks who come in and want to talk about a trip to Hawaii. My eyes light up because it is one of the best trips we ever take. I've taken groups over there in years past where we just visited Oahu (Honolulu and surrounding area), and it was ok, fun and a lot of things to do, but I wanted to be able to visit the other islands too, but didn't have time. So, here's the best solution.

People say, “oh, you must have the best job in the world”.....and I say, “I do!!” But most folks don't have any idea of the behind-the-scenes activity that a travel agent performs to make someone's bucket list vacation a success. It's a great job because we get to be involved in people's lives with some of the most memorable moments in their lives. . .their vacation time!!

If you've been noticing lately, The Travel Factory Gang has a Hawaii trip coming up next month on Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America!! I wish you were going along!!! There might still be some space but the air might be a little pricey, although I did find some air with connections for around $800 yesterday. So, for a trip to the 50th state that will introduce you to most of the islands and give you time to enjoy all of them, give us a call today and we'll do our best to get you on. You'll not regret that experience!! In my opinion, it's the best way to see a lot of Hawaii in 7 days.

Speaking of Hawaii, they had their best visitor count in July...ever. They had over 835,000 visitors and total visitor spending that month totaled more than $1.4 billion. Interestingly the visitor count from Japan, their largest international market dipped a little in July, and the Canadian visitor count was also down, so it was greater input from the mainland that generated the volume.

Year to date through July, Hawaii has welcomed a total of 5.2 million visitors, an increase of 2.5% year over year, and those visitors have spent $9.1 billion across the Aloha State.

One Hawaii specialist remarked that he thought the perception of Hawaii being a safer vacation destination than Europe has given Hawaii a competitive edge for the tourist dollar in 2016. Also the zika threat has deterred folks from the Caribbean and South America, plus there is not a history of terrorism there, so Hawaii is looking pretty good to the traveler right now.