Editorials
Tuesday, August 6, 1996
Potential of sports for
Hawaii tourism
THE Atlanta Olympics was a great show, marred to be sure by a terrorist bomb and excessive nationalism and commercialism. But none of that could keep millions of people from thrilling to the exploits of the world's best athletes, both in person in Atlanta and via television. Now it's Sydney's turn to try to outdo Atlanta in 2000.
There is a special message in the Olympics for Hawaii. The message is that sports events offer vast opportunities for expanding tourism. Hawaii's weather, natural beauty and cosmopolitan population are special advantages. The state has already had considerable success in attracting sports competitions, but it probably could be doing more.
This is not to contend that Honolulu should be bidding to host the Olympics. That would be biting off more than we could chew. But there are other events of smaller scale that could be accommodated. Hawaii already holds one of the world's largest marathons, the Ironman and Tinman triathlons, two collegiate football bowl games and the NFL Pro Bowl, men's and women's professional golf tournaments, surfing tournaments, the Kona billfish tournament and the Kenwood Cup and Trans-Pacific sailing competitions.
Hawaii should be able to handle the America's Cup races; we lost one bid for them, but someday we might succeed if Keehi Lagoon was properly fixed up. The phenomenal popularity of the University of Hawaii's men's volleyball team may signal a larger future for the sport here. The Waikiki Natatorium probably will never again hold a major swimming competition, but its restoration as an operating facility would be a sign of the community's concern for athletics.
Other prospects should not be ignored, of course, but tourism is Hawaii's main livelihood and is likely to remain so. The need is to update and diversify tourism's appeal. One part of that may be developing medical facilities to attract patients from Asia, as the governor is trying to do.
A music festival featuring works from all over the Pacific has been proposed. The campaign to locate the battleship Missouri at Pearl Harbor is part of the tourism effort. Another area of potential growth might well be sports. The Atlanta Olympics is an example of what major sports events can mean to a city.
Dole's tax cut plan
SEARCHING for a way to energize his floundering campaign, Bob Dole has endorsed a Reaganesque 15 percent across-the-board tax cut. It is an improbable proposal from a veteran lawmaker who has rejected such panaceas in the past.
Dole is desperately looking for a jump start, and his advisers have evidently convinced him that the way to get the voters' attention is to promise them a tax cut. But the voters might think it was too good to be true, and they probably would be right.
Workers' comp
AFTER years of groaning under ever-increasing premiums for workers' compensation insurance, Hawaii employers have something to cheer about. The insurance companies are proposing reductions in rates, for the first time in seven years. The state insurance commissioner must approve any changes, but it's highly unlikely that the commissioner would ask for an increase when the insurance companies propose a cut.
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Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor