Kiwi Executive Recognised by U.S. Travel Association
Thursday 12 May 2016, 5:06PM
By Impact PR
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The New Zealand head of Hawaiian Airlines has been recognised by a US travel association for his work in promoting tourism to the state of Oregon.
New Zealand country director Russell "Rusty" Williss received the Rose City Award from Travel Portland for helping to increase the number of Kiwi visitors to the area through his promotion of Honolulu as a convenient hub.
Williss says Kiwis are seeking more diversity in their travel to the United States and that this is also having a beneficial impact on the number of North American tourists visiting New Zealand.
He says bidirectional passenger numbers travelling between Oregon and New Zealand have increased by 23 percent in the past year and are up by over 41 percent since 2013.
Many New Zealand travellers enjoy Honolulu as a stopover before entering into a wider range of US cities, including 11 North American destinations serviced by Hawaiian.
“US tourism opportunities for New Zealanders have increased significantly in recent years as they look beyond the traditional hub of Los Angeles to explore other cities,” says Williss.
“Our onboard hospitality, convenient flight schedules, and the relative ease of our Honolulu hub compared to some of the larger connecting points on the US mainland makes Hawaiian Airlines the obvious choice for travel between Auckland and Portland.”