The Activities & Attractions Association is the result of a 2002 merger between, AOA, (Activity Owners Association of Hawaii) and HAA, (Hawaii Attractions Association). AOA was founded in 1988 by a small but very dedicated group of activity providers. Their diligent efforts to unite the activities & attractions industry resulted in a strong statewide association that is currently considered the voice and legislative watchdog for the activities & attractions industry. HAA was founded in 1993 by an elite group of quality Oahu attractions, originally named Oahu Attractions Association. A synergy has resulted in both Marketing and Lobbying efforts as the organization has combined into one.

The Activities & Attractions Association of Hawaii is made up of two sister corporations, one Lobbying and the other Marketing, with nearly 200 members statewide. We work closely with each island’s Visitors Bureaus taking an active role in promoting tourism through state and county agencies and the Chamber of Commerce. From the beginning, the A3H has focused on achieving specific goals relating to consumer protection issues and developing standards of excellence in the activities industry. Additionally, it has been successful in developing a wide range of collective marketing and benefit programs for its members. The following is a quick list of our products and programs: Activities and Attraction Guidebooks, Island Activity Map, A3H Gold Discount Card, TARP (Travel Agent Referral Program), Mainland Tradeshow representation and the portal for Hawaii's optional tours, http://www.hawaiifun.org.

The Association maintains an 800 number, an extensive activities website (www.hawaiifun.org), and provides a DOWNLOADABLE PDF Consumer Complaint Form which you may print, fill out & send to our office. A3H strives to resolve complaints to the customer's satisfaction within 10 days of receipt. As criteria for continued membership, businesses must resolve complaints within 10 days. To ensure a high quality of members, membership is canceled following a third incident of unresolved complaints.

We advertise each year in the local travel planner; the association also consists of a collective marketing corporation. The corporation produces several publications, products and services for the visitor industry and our membership.

A3H’s legislative successes have resulted in major changes and improvements for activity industry businesses. As an association recognized by the legislature, the A3H can act as a buffer on behalf of its members in cases where blacklisting and financial reprisals would result from individual vendors’ attempts to enforce existing laws. Since the late eighties, the association has tackled and successfully passed legislation affecting such issues as stickering over vendor brochures, payments to vendors from activity desks, establishment of client trust accounts and signage and disclosure laws relating to time-share. See the specific laws at the end of this section, (HRS468M and HRS514E). A3H was instrumental at seeing these introduced as Bills over 10 years ago, fighting each year to see them written into our law books. In September 1998, these were signed into Law.

During the 1997 legislative session the A3H successfully passed legislation affecting liability tort reform within the activities industry. It is hoped that this legislation will help protect activity providers from frivolous lawsuits and create a liability waiver standard for the industry. Eventually it may also help to lower liability insurance premiums for all segments of the industry.

As a continued benefit to members, the A3H legislative committee continues to monitor the legislative arena and alert members to potential hostile legislation that could affect their businesses. Updates and bill tracking is updated to our membership site, www.A3H.org. Here we organize, educate and encourage members to actively lobbying to assist the attractions, helicopter, ocean recreation, land based businesses to battle hostile County, State and Federal legislative mandates have been a key part of A3H’s legislative agenda over the past fourteen years.

Other establishments, which A3H is affiliated and or works closely, are as follows:

• Hawaii Tourism Authority
• Small Business Regulatory Review Board
• Hawaii Hotel Association
• Hawaii Visitors & Conventions Bureau (Island Chapters)
• Chamber of Commerce
• Ocean Tourism Coalition
• Hawaii Helicopter Association
• Academy of Travel and Tourism

Many of A3H membership packages include or are included in the above organizations membership packets.

Collectively our legislative and marketing voice will accomplish more than members could ever attempt to achieve independently.