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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, June 8, 2003

HTA rebuts criticism

 •  Splitting marketing contract stirs worries

By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer

With five years under its belt, the Hawai'i Tourism Authority is undergoing a re-evaluation by industry executives, state officials and authority members who want to see the state's major marketer become more effective and accountable.

Those involved hope a new round of reforms will result in tangible, measurable improvements in the agency's operations and its efforts to strengthen Hawai'i's crisis-battered visitor industry.

Criticism of the authority, which controls a $56 million budget financed through the hotel room tax, is not new. But it came in a torrent at Gov. Linda Lingle's second tourism summit on May 22, and highlighted a series of problems and pent-up resentments dealing with the authority.

Some see Lingle's appointment last week of tourism liaison Marsha Wienert as a sign that the governor shares some critics' discontent with the authority and the direction it is taking.

Wienert will serve at the Cabinet level, focusing on industry-state coordination and other projects that overlap the authority's. But she is also charged with drafting performance measures for the panel.

One of the biggest underlying issues facing the authority is lingering doubt that the tourism authority materially contributes to the state. Critics say taxpayers often don't know what the tourism authority does — even though the authority directly or indirectly decides how to spend $69 million in tourism marketing money.

Much of its annual budget has gone toward a $33.15 million marketing contract with the Hawai'i Visitors & Convention Bureau; the rest goes toward supporting events like the Pro Bowl, festivals and other tourism programs.

The authority says that since its creation, it has focused the state's efforts on increasing visitor expenditures instead of visitor arrivals since the state can accommodate only a limited number of tourists. It says it also established the state's first competitive bidding process for marketing and niche tourism programs.

Authority supporters also count among its accomplishments attracting the May 2001 Asian Development Bank to the Hawai'i Convention Center, overseeing and the transition in center management and the switch to a new marketer for the center.

But some say a tourism authority should lead a more thoughtfully structured industry that benefits local residents by attracting more revenue and jobs, generating increased tax dollars and promoting a better quality of life. That includes preserving natural and cultural resources and developing more attractions and better visitor transportation.

If the authority is successful in promoting a vibrant industry, it is going to generate revenue that could benefit education, healthcare or other services, said Murray Towill, president of the Hawai'i Hotel Association.

But it has long been unclear how successful the authority has been in delivering results. Both inside and outside the industry, the perception is that the authority's effectiveness has fallen short.

Authority Executive Director Rex Johnson, for his part, said: "I don't think there's a negative perception."

Part of the challenge is gaining public support for tourism, an industry that has had a rocky relationship with some segments of the community. Critics view tourism as the cause of overdevelopment, an economy too dependent on visitors and a poorer quality of life.

Johnson said one of the agency's roles is to promote community support for tourism.

"We want to become a better partner to not only the industry but also to the community," he said. "I think it's absolutely necessary for the long-term future of tourism for the community and the visitor industry to be intertwined with one another."

Some in the tourism industry see the authority's role as limited to providing a steady flow of money for the industry's marketing and promotional programs.

They say that role has diminished with the Legislature's budgetary cuts that make the authority's funding less predictable.

Lingle has said that during the next legislative session, she will seek to increase money going to tourism. But such an increase may not be enough to quell the criticism, which often centers on the authority's lack of a clear vision.

Critics such as Donna Mercado Kim, chairwoman of the Senate Tourism Committee, believe the authority needs to move beyond its emphasis on marketing and take up broader concerns, including hotel development, airline flights, visa regulations and park signage.

"I think they really need to focus on what their vision and mission is and not just rely on marketing as their major focus," said Kim.

She said the authority should act as a catalyst in developing and expanding targeted tourism markets such as weddings, health and wellness, and golfing.

"How do we promote and develop some of these ideas and become world renowned for that?" she asks.

The tourism authority's strategic plan lays out its three duties:

  • Create demand for Hawai'i as a tourism destination
  • Revitalize and diversify the Hawai'i tourists come to experience
  • Increase visitor spending per person per day.

The authority began a process to revise the plan, which must be updated by 2005. The revision will be an opportunity for all those affected to weigh in before the plan's final adoption.

Lingle's appointment of Wienert, meanwhile, indicates some of the tourism industry's concerns will be addressed without the tourism authority's direct involvement.

The governor plans for Wienert to help coordinate tourism industry efforts with those of the state. Pushing the airlines for more flights to Hawai'i will be an early priority.

Wienert's job is also to define performance measures for the Hawai'i Tourism Authority, develop the administration's tourism legislative package and advise the governor on marketing of the Hawai'i Convention Center. All are tasks that the authority might have been expected to undertake.

The tourism authority has spent much of its energy responding to a management audit last year, when state Auditor Marion Higa said the authority was fraught with mismanagement problems. That led to new accountability procedures that could help the authority showcase its accomplishments.

"Accountability is about being able to communicate to the general public and the industry exactly what you're spending monies on and to make the whole process transparent," Johnson said. "We've still got a ways to go."

But accountability programs also make the agency more bureaucratic. Keith Vieira, senior vice president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts and an authority board member, said the authority is focusing too heavily on procedural issues.

"We have not made enough progress on results," Vieira said. "You have to make sure that the outcome isn't going to hurt you more than the illness."

Industry leaders say the authority board has lost its way in part because it needs more members with tourism experience. Who better to find solutions to the industry's problems than those who know it best, they ask.

That view is far from unanimous. Kim argues the board has enough tourism representatives. And one committee of the governor's tourism summit has accused some authority board members from the industry of acting in their own interests rather than for the community.

Mike McCartney, chairman of HTA's board and chief executive of PBS Hawai'i, said those who think the authority needs more tourism board members are entitled to their opinion.

"I think it's healthy to have a board that has a balance because tourism is an industry that affects the whole state," he said. " I think it should have a mix of community members on the board."

McCartney describes the authority board as going through growing pains and said one of its biggest challenges is figuring out how to balance tourism industry needs and taxpayer interests.

"It's still public money. It is not visitor industry money. It's the taxpayer dollars. So we need to do a better job of integrating the two," McCartney said.

Reach Kelly Yamanouchi at 535-2470, or at kyamanouchi@honoluluadvertiser.com.