Posted on: Saturday, October 6, 2001

The September 11th attack
Don't delay, governor says

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Capitol Bureau Chief

It would be "foolish" to skimp on spending on tourism promotion now in order to keep money in reserve for advertising next year, Gov. Ben Cayetano said yesterday.

Tourism leaders are seeking $10 million in new money from the state to help finance a new marketing campaign in Japan and on the Mainland, in addition to $61 million that the Legislature already authorized for tourism promotion.

Senate Tourism Committee Chairwoman Donna Mercado Kim has expressed doubts about the plan, saying she is worried that spending the money now would leave too little for marketing later.

But Cayetano wondered aloud yesterday whether the lawmakers who want to hold back on spending for tourism promotion really understand the problem.

"For the life of me I can't see why people are even thinking like that," he said. "Maybe it's because they don't understand the gravity of what's happening to this state economically. Maybe they're not aware that the unemployment compensation applications have tripled already, and unless we take some quick and bold action, it's going to be a long haul for us."

Cayetano said a task force he formed to develop a new tourism marketing plan has mapped out a sound strategy. He quoted one member of the task force, First Hawaiian Bank Chairman Walter Dods, as saying that "in six months we will either be at where we were before, or at least very close to it," provided that nothing worse happens in between.

Cayetano will depart for Japan tomorrow, and is scheduled to meet Wednesday with Prime Minister

Junichiro Koizumi. That meeting will be important because it will be widely covered by the Japanese media, he said.

"We hope to convince the prime minister to say the encouraging things he said in New York for Hawai'i, and if we can do that, it will be worth the trip," Cayetano said.