Posted on: Thursday, July 26, 2001

Tourism Authority gives Kaua'i County $150,000

By Susan Hooper
Advertiser Staff Writer

The Hawaii Tourism Authority yesterday gave Kaua'i County $150,000 to support festivals on the island. Authority officials say Kaua'i's program could become a model for all the counties.

"We're working with the county as a franchisee of ours to do some of the things we do here — nurture and coach events," said Robert Fishman, the authority's chief executive officer. "They're closer to the ground, so they can follow up with them. If the model works, we can apply it to other counties."

Muriel Anderson, the authority's director of tourism programs, said the county will require the festivals it supports to make an in-kind match.

The authority originally recommended $100,000 for the Kaua'i program. But yesterday, the authority voted to approve Kaua'i's request for an additional $50,000. The money is for fiscal year 2002.

In other actions yesterday, the authority approved $425,000 for five business groups on technology and health and wellness tourism product development and business development marketing.

The groups are: Five Mountain Medical Community, $110,000; Hawai'i Island Economic Development Board, $75,000; Kaua'i Economic Development Board, $70,000; Maui Economic Development Board, $70,000; and the Economic Development Alliance of Hawai'i, $100,000.

The authority also approved $50,000 for this year's Hawaii International Film Festival, and $20,000 for the Lanai Pineapple Festival.

Also, the authority voted to broaden the scope of its airlift investigation committee. Specifically, the committee will evaluate the impact of Hawai'i's growing cruise ship industry on airlines and airlift to Hawai'i, look at the impact on interisland airlines of non-stop flights to the Neighbor Islands, and consider other factors that affect how the airline industry serves the state.