EDITORIAL
County officials need not fear Island visit
"Surfers and white-sand beaches? Pineapples and mahi-mahi? Ocean breezes and swanky golf courses?"
Here we go again. That little bit of tropical poetry was the lead of a recent story in the Roanoke Times, but it wouldn't have been hard to find
similar words in other publications as the National Association of Counties gears up for its annual meeting, this time in Honolulu.
Critics around the country are questioning why officials from often cash-strapped counties should be jetting off to sunny Hawai'i when there are so many pressing needs at home. And in some jurisdictions, officials are canceling their trips.
Funny, the same questions don't seem to come up as much when the convention is in, say, Milwaukee or Philadelphia, sites for previous gatherings.
It's fair to acknowledge that Honolulu can be a more expensive destination than some Mainland venues, particularly for those on the East Coast. And travel times to the Islands can also mean an extra day or so out of the office. These are legitimate considerations.
But the flip side is that East Coast conventions add up for West Coast officials, not to mention those from Hawai'i.
And despite our reputation as a pricey resort area, hotel rates here and other convention costs are more than competitive to lure convention business.
It's been said before, but Hawai'i is a victim of its own success in marketing itself as a vacation mecca. But what hasn't been said enough is that Hawai'i is also a legitimate and valuable place to conduct business.
It's a problem not unique to the Islands. Las Vegas sometimes struggles to balance its fun-and-sin reputation with its reputation as a good place to hold conventions.
On the grounds of legitimate cost or time considerations, one can understand why a county might skip this particular meeting. But to suggest that Hawai'i's beauty would merely inspire officials to goof off on the taxpayers' dime is not only a presumptive insult to officials, but it also reflects a lack of understanding of Hawai'i's status as a metropolitan city with a thriving and innovative business community.
The visitor industry understands this problem and has been working hard to promote Honolulu as a good place to conduct business as well as to play. That's what the members of the National Association of Counties will discover if and when they get here.
They should come.
