Six decades after its founding in 1966, This Week Hawaii is marking its 60th anniversary with the launch of an expanded hybrid media initiative that introduces enhanced digital tracking tools for advertising partners. The publication, which began as a simple print magazine placed in the hands of arriving travelers, has grown into the largest visitor publication distribution network in the state, producing more than 1,300 pages of curated content annually across four island editions.
“Reaching this 60-year milestone is a reflection of the trust that travelers and local businesses have placed in us since 1966,” said General Manager Ed Chung. “With more than 1,300 pages of editorial content distributed across four islands and a digital platform that launched 20 years ago, we have spent six decades earning the right to call ourselves Hawaii's visitor guide -- and we do not take that lightly.”
The new digital tracking tools are part of a broader hybrid model that combines traditional print advertising with digital placements, QR codes, and measurable engagement metrics. This integration allows businesses to track how travelers interact with their advertisements, providing data-informed visibility alongside the tangible presence of a printed guide. The model builds on the digital platform thisweekhawaii.com, which launched in 2005 and extended the brand's reach into mobile devices.
This Week Hawaii operates under the Hagadone Media Group and maintains four distinct print editions for Oahu, Maui, Big Island, and Kauai. Each edition is produced by locally embedded editorial teams who live and work within the communities they cover, ensuring that content reflects the unique character of each island. A traveler picking up the Kauai edition, for example, receives insights shaped by people who understand the Na Pali Coast differently than someone writing from Honolulu.
The hybrid model serves modern travelers who encounter the resource at airports, hotels, resorts, and visitor centers. QR codes on print editions connect readers directly to digital content, enabling businesses to measure advertising performance in ways that traditional print alone never allowed. For family-run restaurants, activity operators, and cultural experiences that have partnered with This Week Hawaii across generations, this continuity offers both evolution and accountability.
The 60-year milestone represents an accumulation of trust built across generations. Travelers who visited Hawaii in the 1970s may have carried a copy of This Week Hawaii in their bags; their children and grandchildren now access the same institution through a smartphone. That continuity across formats and across four distinct island communities underscores the publication's role as a cultural bridge for visitors.
As This Week Hawaii enters its seventh decade, its editorial teams across Oahu, Maui, Big Island, and Kauai continue the work that began in 1966: helping visitors find their footing and connecting them with the people and places that make each island worth returning to. The new digital tracking tools provide local businesses with data-informed visibility, strengthening the link between print's tactile familiarity and digital accountability.
