HALEIWA, Hawaii, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Hawaiian Hospitality
Group, Inc. (Pink Sheets: HHGI), a growing provider of sustainable
land use solutions and event services, is pursuing a significant
opportunity to increase revenue by providing unique submarine tours
of Hawaii's underwater ecosystems.
Newly acquired Submersible Technical Services LLC will offer
unforgettable diving experiences to visitors to the island of
Oahu where more than 4 million
visitors spent $5.1 billion last
year.
Hawaiian Hospitality Group successfully closed the acquisition
of Submersible Technical Services on September 15, 2010. Submersible will operate as a
wholly owned subsidiary providing tours of Hawaii's breathtaking marine ecosystems in
state-of-the-art submersible vessels. Submersible is a
development-stage company engaged in the design, manufacture and
operation of personal, one to three person submersible vehicles for
diving, fishing and sightseeing excursions.
According to the Hawaii Tourism Authority's 2009 Annual Visitor
Research Report released October 1,
2010, visitors to the Hawaiian Islands spent $9.9 billion in 2009. Oahu accounts for more than half of
Hawaii's tourism revenue. Of the
nearly $10 billion generated,
$5.11 billion was spent on
Oahu. Oahu hosted 4,119,517 tourists last year.
Hawaii has demonstrated clear
signs that the economy has started to recover, according to the
State Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism
(DBEDT). In its Quarterly Statistical and Economic Report released
August 19, 2010, DBEDT asserts the
most encouraging signs of recovery were in tourism. The total
number of visitors arriving by air to Hawaii continued the upturn experienced since
the third quarter of 2009 by posting a 7.1% increase in the second
quarter of 2010 over the same quarter of 2009. Other visitor
metrics such as the average daily visitor census and visitor
spending were all positive compared with 2009. Visitor spending
increased 10.4% in second quarter this year, the largest growth of
visitor spending since the third quarter of 2005.
Submersible Technical Services will operate within the
Sightseeing Boats subset of the Water Passenger Transportation
industry. According to Dun & Bradstreet, the average business
in this $148.8 million market has
annual sales of $900,000 (Dun &
Bradstreet, Industry Data for SIC 4489, August 2010).
Hawaiian Hospitality Group's primary business is operation of
Loulu Palm Estate, a popular venue for weddings and events on
Oahu's North Shore. Loulu Palm
Estate began operations in 2009 as a destination wedding site with
immediate cashflow from venue fees and event services. Sales for
the flagship property rose significantly this year and bookings for
2011 signal further increases.
Ms. Renee Leong, CEO of Hawaiian
Hospitality Group, commented: "We are pleased to be able to expand
our offerings to visitors of the Hawaiian Islands. The acquisition
of Submersible Technical Services enables us to enter a largely
untapped niche market and provide an unforgettable way to
experience Oahu's underwater
vistas. We are seeing increasing signs of economic recovery and
growth on the Islands and believe our newly acquired submarine tour
business positions Hawaiian Hospitality Group for substantial
increases in revenue and market share."
About Hawaiian Hospitality Group, Inc. (HHGI.PK)
Hawaiian Hospitality Group, Inc. is a growing provider of
sustainable land use solutions and event services. The company
draws on environmental engineering expertise to identify, design,
develop and operate destination sites that provide environmental
and commercial revitalization for Hawaii's coastal properties. Hawaiian
Hospitality Group employs innovative approaches to land use that
generate profitable enterprises while restoring and preserving the
beauty and natural resources of the Hawaiian Islands. The company
generates revenue from venue fees, catering services, wedding
planning and other services on the destination sites it develops,
maximizing value while minimizing the ecological footprint of its
operations.
Except for statements of historical fact, some information in
this announcement contains "forward-looking statements" that
involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these
forward-looking statements by words such as "anticipate,"
"believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may,"
"should," "will," "would" or similar words. The statements that
contain these or similar words should be read carefully because
these statements discuss our future expectations, contain
projections of our future results of operations or of our financial
position, or state other forward-looking information. We believe
that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our
investors. However, there may be events in the future that we are
not able accurately to predict or control.
Since our common stock is considered a "penny stock" we are
ineligible to rely on the safe harbor for forward-looking
statements provided in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the
Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange
Act").
www.hawaiianhospitalitygroup.com
SOURCE Hawaiian Hospitality Group, Inc.
Copyright . 19 PR Newswire