Founded 1977 | Parent organization Norwegian Cruise Line | |
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Polynesian Adventure Tours, Inc. (co-branded as Gray Line Hawaii, also known as Polyad) is a tour and transportation company in Hawaii. It was founded in 1977 by Bob George and his partner Don Brown who started the company as an operator of van sightseeing tours in Waikiki, specializing in personalized tours that utilized drivers as narrators and guides. It's the largest tour bus company in Hawaii. In 2004 it was acquired by Norwegian Cruise Line. Polynesian Adventure Tours maintains offices on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, The Big Island and provides tours to Hawaiian landmarks.
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History
Polynesian Adventure Tours was founded in 1977 by Bob George and Don Brown, with a small fleet of vans. They sold the company in 1986, to Atak Management Corporation, owned by Japanese-American businessman, Shig Katayama. Don Brown left the company and Bob George remained as Director of Sales. The company’s fleet was expanded with the addition of motorcoaches and minibuses on Oahu, and bases operating sightseeing vans on the islands of Hawaii, Maui and Kauai.
On August 1996, the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Hawaii approved the sale of Gray Line Hawaii, Ltd.'s PUC-issued authority "to provide services as a common carrier by motor vehicle in the over-twenty-five passenger classifications on the islands of Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai" to Polynesian Adventure Tours, Inc. This allowed Polyad to further expand its motorcoach and minibus fleet to the islands outside of Oahu.
In November 2004, Polyad was acquired by Norwegian Cruise Lines from the Shig Katayama and Hana Katayama Living Trust. Shortly thereafter, in early 2005, Polyad entered into a licensing agreement for all of Hawaii (previously held by Gray Line Hawaii, Ltd.) with Gray Line Worldwide to increase its marketing reach with the globally recognized Gray Line brand and was co-branded as Gray Line Hawaii.
Awards
Polynesian Adventure Tours – Gray Line Hawaii has been recognized as Metro Magazine's 10 Innovative Motorcoach Operators in 2006 and is consistently in the Top 50 Motorcoach Operators list. The company was also the recipient of Gray Line Worldwide's Market Development Award in 2008.