Fuel costs, higher airfares, a national economic downturn have all hit tourism before, but it's the combination that's so troubling this time around, said David Uchiyama, the Hawai'i Tourism Authority's marketing chief.

"The industry is very cyclical and we have had ups and downs before, but never multiple factors that weigh so heavily in creating such a volatile marketplace," Uchiyama told a group of industry leaders yesterday.

Taken as a whole, the first six months of the year have been down but not catastrophic, with overall visitor arrivals down 5.2 percent. But arrivals dropped 14.2 percent in June, according to state data. The June decline in arrivals by air was the largest since January 2002, when air arrivals fell 16.2 percent.

Industry officials also are worried about the decline in hotel bookings for fall, down 10 percent to 30 percent, according to several hotel officials.

Uchiyama, speaking at the 2008 Hawai'i Tourism Conference, said the state's lead tourism agency is working with industry partners in various ways including traditional marketing promotions.

He said the industry and community can pull together to fight increasing competition from other tourist destinations. He said officials today can learn a lesson from the way early Hawaiians dealt with stormy seas.

They knew that the storm would likely worsen before it passed and "they must secure the canoe and prepare for necessary action, there was no time to place blame," Uchiyama said.

Fuel prices driving up airfares also has officials looking more seriously at other ways to ease the burden on visitors.

Uchiyama said they are looking at fuel surcharges: "how we can somehow offset these charges."

But marketing swiftly and effectively to key markets is also important to keeping tourism vibrant, Uchiyama said.

Jay Talwar, of the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau, said a combination of state money from HTA and cooperative help from the industry has helped pump nearly $11 million in marketing promotion for the year.

That included a 2008 spring promotion worth $1.7 million; 2008 summer promotion worth another $4.9 million and the fall promotion, budgeted for $4.1 million.

"Through our creativity and strong relationships with the market, we can continue to stimulate interest in Hawai'i," he said. "Consumers want to come here, we need to give them the reasons why and confirm the richness of our value."