Senators Challenge Cuts to Visitors Programs
Call on Tourism Authority to restore funding to high-visibility efforts.
State Senators who oversee Hawai‘i’s tourism industry today called on the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority to reverse its decision to slash funding for high-visibility visitor programs. Senator Clarence Nishihara, chair of the Senate Tourism Committee, and Senator Donna Mercado Kim, who was vice-chair of the Tourism Committee before being named to head the Senate’s Ways and Means Committee earlier this week, maintain that the cuts will threaten the state’s efforts to attract repeat visitors. They also say that this appears to be an effort by Governor Linda Lingle to micro-manage tourism.
The Senators were responding to a decision by the Tourism Authority on Thursday to cut special fund spending by about $17 million, which will threaten programs that provide Hawaiian entertainment and greeters at airports and harbors, as well as Sunset on the Beach, evening hula and torch-lighting in Waikiki, and the Waikiki by Moonlight event.
“These are high-visibility events that build warm and lasting memories for our visitors,” said Senator Nishihara. “They make Hawai‘i someplace special, and encourage visitors to come back. With the current economic situation nationally, we are finding ourselves competing with destinations like Mexico, California and the Gulf Coast. We need to set ourselves apart, and these programs are one way we do that.”
Senator Kim sees a lack of strategic thinking in the Tourism Authority’s decision. “We’re robbing Peter to pay Paul. These are long-range concerns. When we start cutting back on programs that give visitors a sense of Hawai‘i as a special place, we’re threatening our brand. It’s great that HTA wants to spend more on marketing to bring people here, but we need to make sure that the experience matches the sales pitch. We also need to acknowledge the critical role word-of-mouth plays in building the desire to visit. Frankly, it doesn’t sound like they have given the matter enough thought.”
Both Senators share a concern that the HTA is not being allowed to make the best decisions for the tourism industry. “We’ve heard some disturbing reports about the monopolizing role Marsha Weinert, the Governor’s Tourism Liaison, played in driving these cuts. We’re concerned that it’s part of a strategy to cut the administration’s less-favored programs and let the Governor micro-manage tourism.”
“The news reported that Marsha Weinert is questioning the value of HTA participating in President-elect Barack Obama’s inauguration,” Kim continued. “Here we have an event getting worldwide attention, and a chance to highlight Hawai‘i as the birthplace of a man who has inspired hundreds of millions of people, and she can’t figure out the value? That sounds blatantly political, especially in light of the Governor’s very public support of the Republican nominee and her questioning the President-elect’s ties to Hawai‘i. I hope Ms. Weinert is prepared to justify the value of the trip she, the Lt. Governor, and the Governor will be making to the Far East.”