A 17-member sales team led by the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau will be pitching Hawaii's business down under for the 17th Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo next week — February 16-18 — in Melbourne, Australia.

It is Australia's largest annual business event exhibition. The three-day tradeshow expects 6,000 professional and corporate conference planners worldwide to attend – a 30 percent increase over last year – along with 850 exhibitors from 50 countries.

The Hawaii tradeshow exhibit will showcase the islands' natural beauty and unique cultural appeal, while the sales team focuses its message on the state's first-rate meeting accommodations and outstanding offers available to groups.

The push includes sales executives for the Kauai Visitors Bureau, Oahu Visitors Bureau, Maui Visitors Bureau, Big Island Visitors Bureau, Hawaiian Airlines, Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa, Hilton Waikoloa Village, Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Waikiki, Sheraton Maui Resort, The Westin Maui Resort & Spa, Aloha Holidays, Incentives Hawaii, Island Partners Hawaii, and Maui Jim Sunglasses.