Skift Take
Some hotels are hiring "culture managers" to broaden their community programming. It's a promising move, given the rising numbers of guests seeking local discovery and cultural tourism.
When Silla Kaina and her new colleague Lokalia Poniliʻulā Farm make baskets, bracelets, and hats from native hala trees on or near Montage Kapalua Bay, they do more than weave. They also piece together a narrative.
The duo of cultural ambassadors — generations apart, but with common goals to educate and immerse staff and guests alike in the traditions, history, music, and art of native Hawaiians — are part of a growing cadre of hotel cultural directors.
A trend in hoteliers hiring cultural directors is a response to rising consumer interest in cultural tourism. A survey by the United Nations’ World Tourism Organization has categorized roughly 40 percent of international tourist trips as having cultural tourism as at least one objective.
Silla Kaina is one of the cultural ambassadors at M