Our learnings with VR told us that consumers were past the looking around phase and were ready for more interactivity. Giving the user agency in the experience was key for a long lasting and memorable impression. Visiting Hawaii as a tourist is great, but with a local as your tour guide, opens a whole new world of activities, cultures and flavors. We partnered with popular local influencers, from musicians to surfing legends, and we created a four-island series where they shared their inside tips and personal stories about their home.

The interactive game experience begins by floating above Hawaii on a para-glider. Grab the handles and choose an island by moving your head and focusing your gaze on the island you want to visit. When you land, the experience transforms to a live action tour guided by a local.

Let Hawaii Happen was developed for a variety of VR headsets from the high-end to mobile, allowing potential visitors around the world to download the experience for free and go on a virtual trip of a lifetime before booking their tickets.

Let Hawaii Happen was also showcased at travel expos and conferences around the world, allowing attendees to attend a jam session on a catamaran in Kauai, surf in Waikiki, visit Maui’s stunning waterfalls, and partake in a hula ritual on an active volcano on the Big Island.

Since launch, the experience has reached VR enthusiasts around the globe. Over 22K virtual travelers downloaded the app, and over 3000 live event participants flew to their favorite Hawaiian island. Hawaii VR is not region-locked, allowing downloads in all territories the platform allows. Our results show consumers’ interest and the most downloads across all regions from US to Europe and Asia a key market for HTA. With VR devices being a popular holiday gift, we saw spikes in downloads on all platforms at the end of December 2016. During this period, Hawaii welcomed 828,473 visitors, a 3.6 percent increase year-over-year. Visitor spending in December 2016 totaled $1.6 billion, an increase of 5.1 percent (or $75 million) above December 2015.

Our strategy was to deliver a one-of-a-kind travel experience on a platform that can deliver a truly immersive way to see and feel Hawaii.

The focus was on presenting a local’s perspective of each island and to capture their personal narrative by utilizing the medium that offers the highest form of immersion available today. At the same time, we wanted to give the user a fun and imaginative way to navigate the islands and discover their beauty.

Consumer insights showed us that many who have never been to Hawaii before thought of it as a beautiful beach destination but were unaware of the variety of activities, the local flavors, and cultures of each island. Hawaii Tourism Authority’s objective was to find innovative ways to let potential visitors experience and learn about the variety and uniqueness of each island. At the same time, we knew that virtual reality offers a powerful platform to showcase travel destinations, but most VR travel experiences out there were limited to 360 videos.