Adventure.com and Hawai‘i Tourism Oceania (HTO) have teamed up on a new campaign spotlighting a younger generation of Hawaiians working to protect the environment, build inclusive communities and reshape the future of tourism.
Dubbed ‘New Wave’, the campaign follows three Hawaiians whose work reflects a more contemporary side of the destination: paniolo cowgirl Kuʻunahenani ‘Nahe’ Keakealani, waterman and ocean advocate Zane Kekoa Schweitzer, and Chinese-Hawaiian chef and mixologist Peter Hessler.
Rather than focusing on the traditional tourism icons of Hawai‘i, the campaign aims to tell the story of the islands through the people working within their communities.
Keakealani is featured for her work protecting native forests, while Schweitzer is focused on nurturing the next generation of ocean advocates. Hessler uses native ingredients in his cooking while creating queer spaces in Honolulu’s Chinatown.
The campaign will run across September and October through editorial features, made-for-social mini documentaries, newsletter integrations, organic and paid social and site-wide display, with all content produced and hosted by Adventure.com.
“At the heart of HTO’s approach is the ambition to attract visitors who want to engage with Hawai‘i more thoughtfully,” said Jennifer Gaskin, chief marketing officer at The Walshe Group, the agency representing the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority in Australia.
“What I love about this campaign is that it brings those ideas to life through people rather than simply telling travellers how to behave.
“Through Nahe, Zane and Peter, we see their values in action. Their stories invite visitors to look beyond the traditional icons of Hawai‘i and understand more deeply what makes these islands so special, and the responsibility we all share in protecting that for future generations.”
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The Adventure.com team travelled to Hawai‘i to produce the campaign, with managing editor Tayla Gentle and videographer Liam Neal travelling from Maui to O‘ahu to interview the talent and capture footage across oceans, forests, cattle ranches and Honolulu’s Chinatown.
The production was supported locally by Hawaiian producer and filmmaker George Y. Russell and Emily Watters, PR account manager at The Walshe Group.
The partnership comes as HTO looks to promote a tourism industry that contributes to stronger communities and a more resilient local economy, with Adventure.com positioning the campaign as an extension of its own editorial focus on responsible travel.
“Adventure.com approached the people and the places featured in the campaign with curiosity and respect, and I think that comes through in the finished work,” Gaskin said.
“We’re thrilled with how the campaign has come together. What stands out to me is how personal and distinctive each of the stories feels, while collectively they tell a much bigger story about contemporary Hawai‘i.”
Adventure.com editor-in-chief Oliver Pelling said the publication had already been aware of HTO’s work around tourism imbalance and responsible tourism before the partnership began.
“Through the ‘New Wave’ project, we’ve been able to help bring HTO’s vision to life by sharing stories about the people closest to both the challenges and the opportunities,” Pelling said.
“Our editorial values and philosophy has been able to run through the entire campaign, and HTO has been so supportive of that.”
Gaskin added that both sides had wanted the work to retain an editorial feel rather than simply function as branded destination content.
“From the outset, there was a shared ambition to create something with editorial integrity rather than simply produce branded destination content,” she said.
Adventure.com head of partnerships Emily Barlow said the campaign demonstrated the publication’s approach to commercial partnerships.
“We hold our commercial partnerships to the same ethical standards as our editorial work,” Barlow said.
