Ridge was shown sitting poolside during the event last month at a time when Homeland Security had imposed a hiring freeze and spending cuts.

It was not the type of television exposure Hawai'i tourism officials covet.

"When somebody like that goes out and says stuff like that it makes it very, very hard for us to market Hawai'i as a serious business destination," said Rex Johnson, executive director of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority. "It's wonderful to have this watchdog group out there saying this, that or the other thing, but you can do it just as good here in Hawai'i as you can any place else."

About 900 people from more than 40 nations attended the event at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. The conference, now in its second year, brought together top government leaders, senior business executives and experts in security, technology and counterterrorism for three days of talks.

In his address to the summit Ridge, who has since announced his resignation, discussed the need for collaboration among foreign governments to combat the spread of international terrorism. Last year, Ridge addressed summit delegates by videoconference.

The summit is part of an effort by state officials to leverage Hawai'i's strong military presence and geographic location to create a center for homeland security collaboration around the Pacific rim.

However, ABC News characterized the summit as one of numerous events where security contractors rub elbows with government officials in charge of awarding contracts. The report, which also included video of a lu'au, a buffet and beaches, aired twice Friday evening — once on ABC "World News" and again during the program "20/20."

State tourism liaison Marsha Wienert said such footage painted a skewed portrait of the event. Official gatherings in Hawai'i often have a cultural element such as hula dancers or a lu'au in deference to native Hawaiian culture, she said.

"That (depiction) just sets us back another six months or a year — who knows how long," Wienert said, referring to state efforts to build a business image. "You probably could do a homeland security summit in Cleveland (as the program suggested), but it probably couldn't be successful as an Asia-Pacific conference.

"That's what this conference is all about."

The conference cost $250,000, most of which was paid for by corporate sponsorships and attendee registration fees, state officials said.

State officials said the ABC News report won't derail plans to hold a third summit in Hawai'i next year. However, just how well attended the event will be by government officials in Washington, D.C., remains to be seen.

"Some of them may run a little scared or be extra careful," said Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, commander of Hawai'i's National Guard, who chaired the summit. "I think that will hurt Hawai'i."

Johnson said characterizations of business trips to Hawai'i as wasteful are a byproduct of the state's success in branding Hawai'i as a destination for leisure travellers. HTA spends just $400,000 of its $43 million marketing budget on business branding. Additionally, SMG, the Hawai'i Convention Center's marketing and management firm, spends about $6 million a year marketing the center mainly to business groups.

Other plans to advertise Hawai'i as a business destination at the Honolulu International Airport and in hotel rooms have yet to get started.

"It's because we have this wonderful leisure brand, which we've had for years, that people have a tendency to believe that Hawai'i is a boondoggle," Johnson said. "It's a serious problem, we know it's a serious problem, we just have to keep working at making sure people understand the business advantages of Hawai'i."