For almost 20 years, the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani creates a global gingerbread village around the holiday season, but this year executive chef Ralf Bauer outdid himself when he added another 100 square feet of village to incorporate additional international destinations. The entire project covers a 14-by-25 foot space and took over 800 man hours to design, construct and set up. The masterpiece incorporates 250 gallons of icing, 150 lbs of dark chocolate, 50 lbs of white chocolate, and 90 sheets of gingerbread. Bauer stated, ”We build the entire structure new every year. People come from all over the world. I want them to say that they’ve never seen anything like this before and that they identify with what they see. I’ve heard from people from nearly every country represented in the village, except France. Personally, I think when they see it, they will say that it is, ‘C’est magnifique!’”
Starwood Hotels and Resorts’ Senior Vice President and Director of Operations, Keith Vieira, noted that almost 45 percent of their Oahu visitors have been foreign travelers. Vieira stated, ”International growth in Hawaii has been significant. Certainly the Japan business has continued to grow and rebound throughout the year. We’ve also had nice growth out of Australia and Canada, and we’ve had big percentage increases, albeit still small numbers, out of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and China. International growth has been very positive and has had an overall compression effect in Waikiki and on Maui, although we are still working on growing our distribution in Kauai and on (the Big Island of Hawaii).
Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 12-9-2012, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
www.myhawaiicondo.com
www.myhawaiidreamhome.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
www.myhawaiicondo.com
www.myhawaiidreamhome.com
