Hawaii Magazine

What Hawaii Magazine does

Hawaii Magazine is a Honolulu-based travel and lifestyle media brand covering Hawaiian Islands tourism, culture, food, and local experiences. Founded in 1984 and originally published in Southern California, the publication has been headquartered in Honolulu since 2007 when it was acquired by aio Media Group (formerly PacificBasin Communications), a locally owned conglomerate that also publishes HONOLULU Magazine, Hawaii Business, and Hawaii Home + Remodeling. The legal operating entity is aio, LLC. The brand claims a reach of over 1 million readers per month across its distribution footprint.

The core product is a print and digital magazine, supplemented by hawaiimagazine.com (responsive web with travel guides, restaurant reviews, event listings, and cultural content), an e-newsletter subscription service, the 'Have Aloha Will Travel' YouTube channel and podcast, a Shopify-based online shop selling subscriptions and branded merchandise, and annual editorial programs including the Readers' Choice Awards and Photo Contest. Content is organized by island (O'ahu, Maui/Moloka'i/Lāna'i, Kaua'i, Hawai'i Island), activity category (beaches, hiking, restaurants, hotels, arts & culture), and traveler persona (first-time, family, adventure, luxury, solo, couples). The underlying technology stack consists of standard content management and e-commerce platforms rather than proprietary systems.

The business model combines print and digital subscriptions, advertising sales (with a dedicated publisher and account executive), e-commerce merchandise revenue, and likely event sponsorship tied to awards and contests. The audience is split between mindful travelers and tourists planning Hawaii visits (primary segment) and Hawaii residents and locals (secondary segment). The publication is privately held with no disclosed venture capital, private equity, or public ownership, and operates as part of aio Media Group's diversified local media portfolio.

Name

Hawaii Magazine

Legal name

aio, LLC

Website

https://hawaiimagazine.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hawaii Magazine is a Honolulu-based travel and lifestyle media brand covering Hawaiian Islands tourism, culture, and local experiences for 1 million+ monthly readers across print, digital, social, and video channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Travel Magazine Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Travel & Outdoors Magazines (MPAJAEAH)

Keywords

• Travel magazine publishing
• Hawaii tourism media
• Destination travel content
• Lifestyle magazine subscription
• Hawaiian culture content

Headquarters

HQ city

Honolulu

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Hawaii Magazine publishes a print and digital travel magazine covering Hawaiian Islands tourism, culture, food, and local experiences, established in 1984 and reaching over one million readers monthly. The brand distributes editorial content across its website (hawaiimagazine.com), email newsletters, YouTube (Have Aloha Will Travel), and major social media platforms, and sells subscriptions, single issues, back issues, and branded merchandise through a Shopify online shop.

Product overview

HAWAIʻI Magazine is a travel and lifestyle media brand offering a unified platform of print magazine, digital website, email newsletters, YouTube video content, and e-commerce shop. The core product is the print and digital magazine publication covering Hawaiian Islands tourism, while the digital platform at hawaiimagazine.com provides travel guides, restaurant reviews, and cultural content. Additional offerings include an e-newsletter subscription service, the 'Have Aloha Will Travel' YouTube channel and podcast, a Shopify-based online shop for subscriptions and merchandise, and annual awards/contests programs including the Readers' Choice Awards and Photo Contest. The brand reaches over 1 million readers monthly and is owned by aio, LLC, a Honolulu-based media company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HAWAI'I Magazine Print + Digital Subscription Recurring subscription to the HAWAI'I Magazine print and digital editions covering Hawaiian Islands tourism, culture, food, and local experiences. Available globally through the Darwin CX subscription platform with options for digital-only, print-only, and print+digital combined access.
• HAWAI'I Magazine Online Shop Shopify-based e-commerce storefront selling magazine subscriptions, single-copy issues, back issues, and branded merchandise to readers worldwide.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Travel + Leisure: Flagship consumer travel magazine covering destinations, hotels, and culture across the globe — the most direct competitive peer in consumer travel magazine publishing with similar subscription, advertising, and digital-content monetization.
• AFAR Media: AFAR Magazine is a multi-platform travel publication targeting 'experiential travelers,' operating print, web, and a custom YouTube channel — closely comparable in editorial format, audience demographic, and diversified monetization.
• Honolulu Magazine: Sister publication under aio Media Group covering Honolulu and Hawaii local lifestyle, dining, and culture — most directly comparable peer in business model, regional focus, and parent-company economics.
• Frommer's: Long-running travel guide publisher with destination-specific content for Hawaii (and 100+ other destinations), offering books, online guides, and editorial — comparable in audience intent (travel planning) and destination-editorial format.
• Fodor's Travel: Established destination travel guide brand with detailed Hawaii coverage across hotels, restaurants, and itineraries — directly competes for travel-planning audience attention in the same Hawaii vertical.

Broad incumbents

• Condé Nast Traveler: Established luxury-travel print and digital title from Condé Nast with deep archive and global destination coverage — broader-scope incumbent that overlaps with Hawaii Magazine's premium travel content but serves a wider, international luxury audience.
• National Geographic Travel: Travel vertical of National Geographic covering global destinations with photo-driven storytelling — comparable in travel editorial format and multi-platform reach, though backed by significantly larger resources and global brand.
• Lonely Planet: Globally recognized travel content and guidebook publisher with extensive Hawaii coverage — comparable in travel editorial and multi-platform (print, web, social) strategy, though serving a broader international backpacking-to-mid-market audience.
• Tripadvisor: Largest user-generated travel-planning platform with massive Hawaii destination coverage via reviews, photos, and forums — competes indirectly for the same Hawaii travel-research intent that drives Hawaii Magazine's content engagement.

Regional players

• Hawaii Business Magazine: Sibling publication under aio Media Group focused on Hawaii business and industry — comparable in regional Hawaii editorial focus but targets B2B rather than tourism audience, and operates from the same parent infrastructure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HawaiiMagazine
• YouTubeyoutube.com/havealohawilltravel
• Facebookfacebook.com/hawaiimagazine
• Instagraminstagram.com/hawaiimagazine
• Pinterestpinterest.com/hawaiimagazine
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hawaiimagazine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hawaii Magazine