Incentives Becoming More Adventurous
<B> Incentives Becoming More Adventurous</B>
By Judy Jacobs
While incorporating soft adventure activities into incentives seems to be a worldwide trend, it is especially true in Hawaii, where destination management companies are continuously scrambling to create new experiences for groups whose members have been to the islands before.
"We are seeing more soft adventure. There are so many people who have been to Hawaii so many times that you have to find something new," said Kathy Clarke, president of Kathy Clarke Meetings & Incentives. "We now have more kayaks, and hiking has grown. I couldn't have sold a hiking tour for the life of me 10 years ago."
The trend toward adventurous activities started with bike trips down Haleakala on Maui, which is still a very popular activity for groups to do, Clarke said. In addition, Kauai encouraged and developed "eco-tourism," and kayaking is especially popular there. Clarke's company has found a half-day kayaking trip up the Huleia River from Nawiliwili Harbor especially suitable for many groups.
"I invented that tour after Kauai was devastated by Hurricane Iniki. Some of the operators weren't up and running yet, but I had to find tours for a group of 550 people for three days. Ocean kayaking is a bit rough for some, but when I heard about the possibility of kayaking on the Huleia River, I decided to do it," she said. Now several companies operate kayaking on the river.
"The state limits how many people can go per day to 24 or so for each company. But that's not really a problem. I did a group of 250 people using all four or five companies," she added.
While Kauai was the force behind the development of eco-tourism in Hawaii, the Big Island has become a very suitable place for adventure activities as well. One of the Big Island's most unique tours is the Kohala Mountain Kayak Cruise on the island's northwest tip. Inflatable kayaks carrying four people and a guide through the tunnels and ditches of the Kohala sugar plantation irrigation system.
"The most popular thing to do on the Big Island is a helicopter flight around the waterfalls and then landing on a bluff overlooking the ocean and do hikes from there," said Kimberly Patterson, spokesperson for DMC Panache.
A new activity, which was started last year and is gaining in popularity on the Big Island, is all-terrain vehicle tours. "Each participant gets their own vehicle and they drive down the old roads that were used to build the Kohala Ditch to the beach. They can now take eight people at a time, and will have 14 vehicles by next spring," Patterson said.
Meanwhile, Maui has expanded far beyond Haleakala downhill bike rides to include a wide variety of adventurous activities. "Hang gliding into Haleakala is becoming popular," said Toni Rojas, director of sales for Maui-based DMC Island Incentives. More groups are requesting hiking tours and next year several new trails on private lands that weren't accessible before will be available, she added.
New hiking trails also are opening on the Big Island. "There's always new hiking. Waipio Valley just opened up, and you can do a three- or four-mile hike that takes about two hours," said Patterson.
There also are new opportunities for mountain biking on the Big Island. "There's a new company that just started up, which offers mountain biking in the Kohala Mountains on trails that pass by waterfalls," Patterson said.
Groups in Maui also can have an adventure on Lanai. One increasingly popular activity is catamaran operator Trilogy Excursion's Discover Lanai sailing expedition aboard one of the company's giant catamarans. "Participants get a chance to sail, do a jeep safari on Lanai, take a ride in a jet boat, see a special cultural show--Lanai Calls--and sail back at night," Rojas said. "It appeals to a wide variety of groups and activities.