Hawaii’s Original Visitor Guide Enters Its Seventh Decade

From 1966 to 2026: How This Week Hawaii Built a Multi-Generational Visit Hawaii Resource

Honolulu, United States – May 8, 2026 / This Week Hawaii /

Six decades ago, a single print magazine began making its way into the hands of travelers arriving in the Hawaiian Islands. Today, This Week Hawaii marks its 60th anniversary with the launch of an expanded hybrid media initiative that broadens the brand’s presence across all four island editions and introduces enhanced digital tracking tools for advertising partners.

Founded in 1966, This Week Hawaii has grown from a single publication into the largest visitor publication distribution network in the state, producing more than 1,300 pages of curated content each year across Oahu, Maui, Big Island, and Kauai.

From Print Pages to a Living Digital Platform

When the first issue was published in 1966, Hawaii’s visitor industry looked very different than it does today. The publication addressed a specific need: a locally produced, reliable resource that could help orient travelers and connect them with the culture, geography, and businesses of each island. That foundational purpose remains intact.

In 2005, This Week Hawaii launched its digital platform, thisweekhawaii.com, extending the brand’s reach beyond the printed page and into the devices travelers carry with them. Rather than replacing print, the digital expansion created an integrated model in which both formats operate in parallel. The platform now functions as part of the Hagadone Media Group and combines traditional print advertising with digital placements, QR codes, and trackable engagement metrics — providing local businesses with data-informed visibility alongside the tangible presence of a printed hawaii visitor guide.

“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 of This Week Hawaii, 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.”

Four Islands, Four Editorial Voices

One of the defining structural characteristics of This Week Hawaii throughout its six decades is its commitment to island-specific storytelling. Rather than producing a single statewide publication, the brand maintains four print editions — Oahu, Maui, Big Island, and Kauai — each supported by locally embedded editorial teams who live and work within the communities they cover.

This structure means that a traveler picking up the Kauai edition receives content shaped by people with firsthand knowledge of the Na Pali Coast that a writer based in Honolulu or on the mainland could not replicate. Each edition carries local perspective that a centralized newsroom would be hard-pressed to authentically produce. This ground-level editorial approach has positioned This Week Hawaii as something closer to a cultural bridge than a conventional hawaii travel guide.

A Hybrid Model Built for the Modern Traveler

Print editions continue to be distributed through airports, hotels, resorts, and visitor centers statewide, reaching travelers at the moment of arrival as they begin planning their time on the islands. Alongside each print placement, QR codes connect readers directly to digital content, enabling businesses to track engagement and measure advertising performance in ways that print alone could not deliver.

For businesses that have partnered with This Week Hawaii across generations — family-run restaurants, activity operators, and cultural experiences — this model offers continuity alongside meaningful evolution. The familiar format of a printed visit hawaii resource now carries the accountability of digital analytics.

Six Decades as Hawaii’s Cultural Compass

What distinguishes a 60-year publishing legacy is not simply longevity — it is the accumulation of trust. 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 generations, formats, and four distinct island communities is what this milestone represents.

As This Week Hawaii enters its seventh decade, editorial teams across Oahu, Maui, Big Island, and Kauai continue the work that began in 1966: helping visitors find their footing in one of the most distinct places on Earth, and connecting them with the people and places that make each island worth returning to.

About This Week Hawaii

This Week Hawaii is Hawaii’s original and longest-running visitor publication, founded in 1966 and operating under Hagadone Media Group. The platform produces four island-specific print editions covering Oahu, Maui, Big Island, and Kauai, supported by locally embedded editorial teams. Its hybrid model integrates print distribution with digital placements, QR code tracking, and measurable engagement tools, distributing more than 1,300 pages of curated content annually through the largest visitor publication network in the state.

Learn more at This Week Hawaii