Insight's Marc Kazlauskas Talks Hawaii

Insight Vacations has announced that they would, for the first time, be including high-end trips to the Hawaiian Islands next year. We touched base with the company’s president, Marc Kazlauskas, to find out more.

The program took two years to develop, Kazlauskas said. “Our Canada and USA products have been growing, and our sellers said that we needed to add Hawaii. And Hawaii has come back, so it’s the right time.”

 

The state has survived significant challenges in the last few years, Kazlauskas acknowledged. “It came back in 2010, and this year has been even better,” he said. After a year of contracting, inspecting sites and properties and negotiating terms, the product was ready, but Kazlauskas said that they wanted time for buzz to grow. “You want to launch at the right time,” he explained. “If we launched too soon, then there’s no time to get the word out.” East Coast travelers tend to book their Hawaiian vacations farther out due to the time it takes to get there, he adds, so Insight launched their 2012 USA catalogue earlier than ever to give agents time to sell. By announcing an April 14, 2012 launch date in early August 2011, he feels confident that there will be plenty of bookings by the first departure.

In developing the program, Kazlauskas said that they wanted to balance value-for-money with luxury. “We do escorted tours…but not all-inclusive. There is so much to enjoy on your own, or in the towns,” he added. “We wanted to show them what the real Hawaii was—getting under skin, but with freedom and flexibility.”