Tourism officials defend use of emergency money

Associated Press

Hawai'i tourism officials yesterday defended their use of $10 million in emergency money before a Senate committee that suggested there might be better ways of appropriating the money.

The hearing before the Committee on Tourism and Intergovernmental Affairs comes amid a draft audit report that shows the Hawaii Tourism Authority has serious management problems.

Tourism officials face a March 1 deadline to provide lawmakers with a full report of how the $10 million is being spent. The money was appropriated to the authority to help the industry recover from the economic effects stemming from Sept. 11. Among the programs criticized by lawmakers was the ValuePass, a card that provides discounts from hundreds of merchants.

"It is an excellent program that is one part of an integrated marketing effort," said Tony Vericella, president of the Hawaii Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The HCVB spent $223,000 to print 1 million brochures containing the card, he said.

But committee chairwoman Sen. Donna Kim (D-15th, Fort Shafter-'Aiea) said many merchants complained the program has not been effective in promoting business.

"As legislators who appropriate money, we need to know in some sense whether a program is effective or not," Kim said. "If there are problems, the question is whether the money that was spent can be spent in a more effective manner."