Six decades after its founding in 1966, This Week Hawaii is marking its 60th anniversary by launching an expanded hybrid media initiative that introduces enhanced digital tracking tools for its advertising partners. The publication, which began as a simple print magazine for travelers arriving in the Hawaiian Islands, has grown into the largest visitor publication distribution network in the state, producing more than 1,300 pages of curated content annually across Oahu, Maui, Big Island, and Kauai.
The milestone underscores the evolution of a brand that has remained relevant by adapting to changing media consumption habits. In 2005, This Week Hawaii launched its digital platform, thisweekhawaii.com, extending its reach beyond the physical page. Rather than replacing print, the digital expansion created an integrated model where both formats operate in parallel, combining traditional print advertising with digital placements, QR codes, and trackable engagement metrics.
General Manager Ed Chung emphasized the significance of the anniversary, stating: "Reaching this 60-year milestone is a reflection of the trust that travelers and local businesses have placed in us since 1966. 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."
A key structural distinction of This Week Hawaii 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. This approach ensures that a traveler picking up the Kauai edition receives content shaped by people who understand the Na Pali Coast differently than someone writing from Honolulu. Each edition carries local nuance that a centralized newsroom could not authentically replicate.
Print editions continue to be distributed through airports, hotels, resorts, and visitor centers across the state. Alongside each print placement, QR codes connect readers directly to digital content, enabling businesses to track engagement and measure advertising performance. For the businesses that have partnered with This Week Hawaii across generations -- family-run restaurants, activity operators, and cultural experiences -- this model offers continuity alongside evolution. Travelers now encounter a resource where the tactile familiarity of a printed guide carries the accountability of digital analytics.
What distinguishes a 60-year publishing legacy 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 the milestone represents. 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 in one of the most distinct places on Earth and connecting them with the people and places that make each island worth returning to.
This Week Hawaii operates under the Hagadone Media Group and distributes more than 1,300 pages of curated content annually through the largest visitor publication network in the state. The introduction of digital tracking tools marks a significant step in its hybrid model, providing advertisers with data-informed visibility alongside the tangible presence of a printed guide.
