Two fishermen preparing their boat to look for tako, framed by the beauty of the Koolau range and Chinaman's Hat, are among the diverse images of Hawaii that are central to the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau's fall "Picture Hawaii" marketing campaign.

The HVCB's newest campaign, which runs from this month to December, is built around an online collection of photos submitted by Hawaii residents in response to a call from HVCB to share how locals live and play in the islands. The promotion is targeting a new breed of Internet-savvy, blog-reading consumers who use technology not only to book their travel but to find out about which destinations they would like to visit. It's also designed to provide visitors with the authentic images of Hawaii that they crave.

"Our research shows that visitors appreciate knowing what residents like to experience and they get more enjoyment in Hawaii from the more activities that they do," said Jay Talwar, HVCB's vice president of marketing.

HVCB campaign exhibits locals’ photos

The HVCB's newest campaign, which runs from this month to December, is built around an online collection of photos submitted by Hawaii residents in response to a call from HVCB to share how locals live and play in the islands. The promotion is targeting a new breed of Internet-savvy, blog-reading consumers who use technology not only to book their travel but to find out about which destinations they would like to visit. It's also designed to provide visitors with the authentic images of Hawaii that they crave.

"Our research shows that visitors appreciate knowing what residents like to experience and they get more enjoyment in Hawaii from the more activities that they do," said Jay Talwar, HVCB's vice president of marketing. "We need to take them beyond the image of Hawaii as a sun, sand and surf destination."

The shoulder-season promotion expands upon the marketing ideas HVCB used in last year's successful Dream Vacation contest, which drew 138,000 unique visitors to HVCB's Web site and enticed 56,000 of them to participate in the contest and plan a trip to Hawaii, Talwar said.

Delta Continues Los Angeles Expansion With New Service to Mexico and Central America

Delta Air Lines this winter will continue its historic expansion between Los Angeles and Mexico and Central America with new nonstop service between the City of Angels and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and Managua, Nicaragua, effective Dec. 15 and 16, respectively. Delta's new service to Managua will operate two-times weekly while flights to the vacation hotspot of Puerto Vallarta will operate daily. Both routes are subject to foreign government approvals.

``Delta's expanded service at Los Angeles will provide convenient access to important cities in Mexico and Central America for a growing customer base in key West Coast markets,'' said Bob Cortelyou, vice president -- Network Planning at Delta. ``With our continued expansion at Los Angeles, next year Delta will proudly offer customers service to nearly 30 Mexican and Central American destinations -- more than twice as many as we offered just two years ago.''

Additionally, in response to strong demand for recently announced service between Los Angeles and Guatemala City, Delta will expand flights to the Guatemalan capital from once weekly to four-times weekly, starting Dec.

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air Announce Fall Sale Celebrating Horizon's 25th Anniversary

Sister carriers Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are celebrating Horizon's 25th anniversary this fall with an airfare sale on some of the airlines' most popular routes. Sale information, including vacation package discounts and bonus-mile offers from Mileage Plan partners, is available on the carriers' Web sites, alaskaair.com and horizonair.com.

Passengers can take advantage of fall fare specials on a wide range of routes. Fares start as low as $49 one way between Seattle and Boise, Idaho; $59 between San Francisco and San Diego; $109 between Portland, Ore., and Palm Springs, Calif.; and $189 between Anchorage, Alaska, and Seattle or Portland. Passengers must purchase their tickets by Sept. 7, 2006, and travel by Dec. 14, 2006.

The airlines also are offering special discounts for complete Alaska Airlines Vacations packages to popular destinations like the Disneyland ® Resort, San Diego and Mexican resort destinations, including Cancun and Puerto Vallarta.