Posted on: Friday, June 11, 2004
$69M tourism budget OK'd
By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Hawai'i Tourism Authority board approved a $69 million budget for fiscal 2005 yesterday.
The budget, paid for by the state government, includes about $43 million for marketing Ha-wai'i, $6 million for marketing the Hawai'i Convention Center, $5.9 million for the NFL Pro Bowl, $2.6 million for administration and $2.2 million for PGA golf tournaments, among other expenses.
In executive session at the board meeting yesterday in Kailua, Kona, the panel decided to extend the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau's contract to four years upon evaluation of audits and reviews, said board chairman Mike McCartney. HVCB originally had a one-year contract that started in January to market Hawai'i across North America.
HVCB is returning more than $2 million to the state tourism authority as a result of the audits and reviews, including money owed because of accounting problems and questions of approval of expenditures, McCartney said.
"They've been very cooperative," he said. Some money is being used for an airline cooperative marketing program and Hawai'i promotions in Japan.
The tourism authority board reviewed an evaluation of executive director Rex Johnson and renewed his contract for three years through 2007 at the current salary of $240,000 a year.
"The board is very pleased with his performance," McCartney said.
The authority also decided to hire a sports coordinator and establish a sports investigative committee.
Board members McCartney, vice chairman Ron Wright and Keith Vieira have not been reappointed to the tourism authority and the board thanked them yesterday at what is likely to be their last meeting.
"I think in the last two years we were able to effectively deal with the issues of accountability and now we can move on with marketing the state," McCartney said.
Dividing the state's tourism marketing contracts between long-standing promotion agency HVCB and four new contractors was one of the biggest moves the tourism authority made during McCartney's tenure.
"For HVCB, they retained their strength, which is the North American market. I think it was important to allow other entities who know their marketplaces to be able to sell their marketing," McCartney said. "I think being successful in a niche in the future is going to be more important than just doing the whole world."
Vieira, who is also senior vice president at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, has said that the direct managing of the multiple agencies to promote Hawai'i "is never what it should have been or was supposed to be — but that's what it is and that's where we're going."
Reach Kelly Yamanouchi at kyamanouchi@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2470.
