The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) wants to use your facial expressions to build you the ultimate itinerary for your next visit to the Aloha State.
According to Hawaii News Now, the HTA is teaming up with online travel company Expedia on its newest ad campaign targeting millennials. The HTA and Expedia will utilize facial recognition technology to attract younger travelers who are more likely to be first-time visitors to Hawaii.
Once users give their consent, a screen will display drone footage of various visitor experiences in and around the state of Hawaii. The video will then change based on the individual's facial reactions. "You look at the overall thing and you react, and the facial recognition (program) will see that," HTA vice president of marketing and product development Leslie Dance told Hawaii News Now.
"Ultimately, you're served up the kind of vacation you might like, the itinerary you might like."
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"This is the first marketing campaign of its type," added Dance. "Expedia has never done it with facial recognition with drone footage, and no other destination has done it."
By joining forces with Expedia, the HTA expects to reach up to 90 million potential travelers.
The campaign won't come cheap, however. The HTA is spending as much as $7 million on this latest ad campaign and other new technologies designed to promote tourism to the state.
"We've had five great years but we need not rest on our laurels and we need to make sure we're doing things to attract the next generation of traveler," Dance told Hawaii News Now.
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