With some Hawai'i hotel bookings for the fall estimated at 10 percent to 30 percent below last year's, a number of hoteliers plan to ask the Hawai'i Tourism Authority board at its Tuesday meeting to help boost the sagging visitor industry.

HTA president and CEO Rex Johnson said the board wants to hear suggestions on how to help and welcomes the industry expertise but is already aware of the importance of responding to the declines. "I think everybody believes that it's serious," he said.

Earlier this year, the board shifted $3 million to more marketing to try to boost summer and early fall business after the sudden closing of two major airlines operating here — Aloha and ATA.

Johnson said the advertising appears to have helped. A new proposal with specifics on how much money should be spent in a new campaign has yet to be put forth.

"We've already reallocated some money," Johnson said. "Do we need to reallocate next year's budget money?" he asked. "What are the solutions?"

He said tourist destinations around the world are struggling to figure out how to stay attractive in a market where people are reconsidering how to spend vacation money or even whether to take a vacation this year.

Johnson said there's no obvious solution. "How can you fix stuff that's broken by mortgage lending, by the price of oil, by the bad stock market?" he said.

David Carey, president and CEO of Outrigger Enterprises Group, said there is growing sentiment among most businesses dependent on tourism. "We need to wave our arms and say, 'Hey gang, we need some aggressive action,' " he said.

Take a California family of four who could have paid $1,400 last year for round-trip airfare to Hawai'i if they found a good deal. That price tag has doubled and gasoline bills have gone up by a third or so, which can cut into a vacation budget.

"I'm pretty spooked about it personally," Carey said. "We're not going to change that tomorrow."

Carey said he's heard estimates of fall bookings down "anywhere from 10 to 30 percent."

He said there's substantial concern at hotels "that the fall is going to be very difficult," especially on the Neighbor Islands. Maui had been seeing high occupancy, and high hotel rates to match, but has been dropping recently.

Carey said O'ahu has been up, in part because of the boost from the Rim of the Pacific (Rimpac) military exercises, held here every two years.

He thinks Hawai'i needs to work at maintaining a fair share of the vacation money out there. "There's going to be a new normal and we're going to have to work through that," he said.

Murray Towill, president of the Hawaii Hotel and Lodging Association, said industry people are talking about ways to help ease the decline.

The general sentiment, he said, is "we need to take some action. We need to do something."

Between fuel prices, airfares, the economy and some seasonal dips expected in the fall, Towill said, there are reasons for concern.

He also said the earlier shift of $3 million seems to have helped. "It looks like it's having some positive effect," he said.