With Hawai'i tourism slumping, focus has shifted to the marketing messages used to promote the Islands — an increasingly detailed process designed to reach the most likely traveler.

The Hawai'i Tourism Authority contracts with the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau to handle marketing to North America, a traditionally reliable source of Hawai'i visitors.

David Uchiyama, HTA vice president of tourism marketing, praised the latest effort.

"They've spent a lot of time to really hone in on our customer," he said.

Jay Talwar, HVCB's senior vice president of marketing, pores through research of likely travelers and then helps target a message that reaches those folks. It could be in articles they read in their favorite magazine, on Web sites they check to research traveler or in a Sunday newspaper ad.

Even before the double-digit declines in tourism, the marketing message had become increasingly sophisticated. Much of the message is aimed at what's broadly called The Avid Traveler, a middle-aged or younger person, often married and with a household income of $75,000 to $100,000

Research shows that this couple is likely to visit the Islands once: "They like to plan out their vacations to make sure that they have seen and done the must dos." They take their cues from top 10 lists, places they've seen in the movies and destinations perceived as popular.

They are likely to be watching Travel channel and the Food Network and reading Travel & Leisure magazine. And they might plan their trip by checking out: www.Expedia.com, Google and reading Conde Nast Traveler.

Focusing on the higher-spending visitor has allowed tourism officials to narrow the pitch. When the tourists who come spend a lot of money, the revenue can remain high without "necessarily increasing the number of arrivals," Uchiyama said.

Talwar said the pitch goes to people who place a high value on vacations and doesn't stop at one demographic. "They cut across all ages, demographics, ethnicities, family/single/empty-nester, sexual orientation, etc."

Talwar emphasizes that the profiles are a way to provide a short-form description of a lot of data. "For example, the media cited are only a few examples of the media they consume, not the only media they consume," he said.

In marketing Hawai'i, Talwar said the "personas" provide an easier-to-understand way to think of the travelers most likely to visit Hawai'i.

Hawaiian Airlines president and CEO Mark Dunkerley said the HVCB "has done as good a job as can be done" in targeting visitors who spend more and stay longer. "It's been very successful," he said.

But Dunkerley said in a tough and competitive travel environment like this one, government and industry leaders need to realize that success takes more than marketing.

"Tourism is among the most competitive businesses in the world," Dunkerley said. "We don't have the luxury of standing still."

With tourism remaining Hawai'i's No. 1 industry, he said there needs to be a push to improve as a destination with renovated hotels, improved roads and sewers.

Dunkerley understands the community debate weighing economic benefits and anti-development feelings. "There needs to be a sense of balance," he said.

But said it's unwise to depend on any one segment too much and points to the decline in Japanese visitors.

"Everybody thought this wellspring of Japanese tourism was going to be there for all time," he said. "That evaporated very, very painfully for the state."

He said the time-share industry, where vacationers buy a week a year at a resort, has turned out to be a stable source of income during difficult times.

"Over the next generation or two, we have no idea which particular segment of tourism is going to be up or down," Dunkerley said.

Developing a diverse appeal helps in the long term. "When one thing's hot you don't abandon the other thing."

At Marriott Resorts Hawaii, Ed Hubennette, vice president of North Asia, Hawai'i and South Pacific, said the marketing by state and industry officials is headed in the right direction but needs community support of the importance of the industry.

And a continued push to tell potential visitors that Hawai'i is still a great vacation value. "Hawai'i had developed an image of being very expensive" after fuel prices soared, Aloha and ATA airlines went out of business and airfares climbed.

But Hubennette — like Dunkerley — thinks people in the community need to realize how important the industry is.

"I think we have an emergency frankly," Hubennette said. " I think there's a crisis right now in relation to travel. We're beyond the yellow flashing lights of warning."

While his company continues to grow and hire more employees for some jobs, it has also cut back workers across the state. "We've had reductions in workforce across every island. Those are the tough decisions to make," he said.

Still, Hubennette said he's confident that the state's people, diverse culture and natural beauty will remain a powerful vacation draw for years to come.

"This is not a matter of throwing million and millions of dollars out there," Hubennette said. "It's about spending smart." working in partnership.