Douglas Chang appointed chair of CNHA's Kilohana Collective Transition Team
The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) announced today that Douglas Chang, General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Residences,...
top of page
The people of Hawai‘i have long asked for a new way of managing tourism. And the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority (HTA) responded with a vision of a regenerative model for tourism which embraces and supports our culture and community, and gives more than it takes.
Our culture, ‘āina, and community have long represented the backbone of the tourism industry. Tourism must contribute to the perpetuation of our traditions. It must contribute to the regrowth and regeneration of our ‘āina, but most importantly it must provide meaningful economic opportunities for our local families so they can stay in Hawaiʻi and imagine a future for their ‘ohana.
Such a transformative shift to Hawaiʻi’s chief economic driver may be scary for those who want to maintain the current model.
The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) and the Kilohana Collective are humbled that HTA entrusted us to deliver the change that Hawaiʻi desperately needs. We understand that a protest has been filed with HTA in regard to its decision to award CNHA the contract for the Hawai‘i Destination Brand Marketing & Management Services for the United States Major Market Area. We respect the process that HTA must follow to move forward with its partnership with us, and we have submitted factual information to the State to clarify various misrepresentations and inaccuracies presented in the protest.
We mahalo the HTA board and staff for their confidence in CNHA and the Kilohana Collective team. It is in that spirit that we eagerly look forward to working with all stakeholders.
Please check back in for updates. Mahalo and aloha.
See HTA’s Strategic Plan
“Hawaiʻi, the visitor industry, and the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority are all in a time of Huliau, in which an accelerated shift toward destination management is necessary in order for tourism to properly support the revitalization of our communities and economy in a more meaningful and reciprocal way.”
- John De Fries
HTA President and CEO
Kilohana is a collaborative of complementary change agents committed to fulfilling HTA’s vision and specific directives. Our nexus of organizations are involved in communication, creative design, facilitation, coordination, and community engagement. Kilohana is poised to work alongside community, industry, and government stakeholders. Together we symbolically form a pāwehe pattern emblematic of our varied experiences and abilities cohesively brought together to achieve the excellence embodied in a beautifully designed kilohana placed atop layers of soft kapa fit for the moena of an ʻohana’s most honored guests.
Together, Kilohana will work to achieve:
-
The development a compelling message to connect to the positive-impact, mindful traveler
-
Create an in-market experience framed by a kuleana-based relationship between malihini and kamaʻāina that invests in strong visitor lifetime value
-
Deliver a Marketing Plan and Global Support Services Plan with professional excellence, informed by meaningful research and HTA’s brand guidance
-
Invest in Destination Management Action Plans that empower Hawaiʻi’s communities and people, fulfills kuleana to mālama ʻāina, builds capacity for increased economic development, and centers Hawaiʻi’s people and cultures in Hawaiʻi’s brand
-
Ignite a transformative huliau that creates new life and builds new bridges between community, industry, and malihini
Our partners include:
-
Solutions Pacific
Transition Team
As we reflect on Hawai‘i’s history, we see moments that were ripe for huliau, windows when deep transformation could readily occur. There is perhaps no better moment than today, in the anticipated wake of COVID-19, to boldly transform tourism, Hawai‘i’s chief economic driver, to a regenerative model that Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority is set to lead.
We are honored to have a Transition Team made up of a passionate and diverse group of tourism experts and community leaders, committed to HTA’s vision of a regenerative tourism model. While HTA is moving forward with the RFP process, the CNHA and the Kilohana Collective are continuing our planning efforts so that we are ready to proceed pending the outcome of the RFP process. The team’s kuleana is to solidify the roles and leadership of Kilohana and support the transition with our communities and industries.
Doug Chang
Chair of Transition Team
General Manager, Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikīkī and former HTA Chair
.png)
Amy Kalili
Interim Executive Director, Kilohana Collective, and Partner, Pilina First LLP
Aaron Salā
Director of Cultural Affairs, Royal Hawaiian Center and former HTA Chair
Kūhaʻo Zane
COO & Creative Director, Sig Zane Designs and President, Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation
Ann Botticelli
former Hawaiian Airlines Senior VP of Corporate Communications and Public Relations
Micah Kāne
CEO and President, Hawai‘i Community Foundation
Rebecca Soon
President,
Ward Research
Frank Haas
former HTA Vice President and Director of Marketing and current visitor industry consultant
Kuʻuipo Kumukahi
Manager of Hawaiian Culture, Hyatt Regency Waikīkī
Roy Tokujo
ʻUlalena founder and former HTA Chair
Corbett Kalama
Executive Vice President, The Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation
Kūhiō Lewis
CEO,
Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement
Sun Wong
Principal, CM Marketing Group and former chair of O‘ahu Visitors Bureau
COUNCIL for NATIVE HAWAIIAN ADVANCEMENT
Headquartered in Kapolei, The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) is a member-based 501(c)3 non-profit organization with a mission to enhance the cultural, economic, political, and community development of Native Hawaiians.
For over 20 years, we have provided access to capital, financial education and individualized financial counseling services with a focus on low and moderate-income families. CNHA is also Native Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) certified by the U.S. Treasury department and a HUD-Certified Housing Counseling agency and serves as a National Intermediary, providing grants and loans targeting underserved communities in Hawaiʻi.
bottom of page