Hawaii trails Illinois in tourism spending

By Pete Pichaske
Phillips News Service'

WASHINGTON -- Hawaii has dropped from first to second place in state spending on tourism, according to a national survey released here.

Hawaii is expected to spend $27.7 million this fiscal year to attract tourists, according to the report from the Travel Industry Association of America.

The figure is $8.1 million less than last year, and enough to drop Hawaii into second place among the states.

Illinois, with a budget of $35.3 million is now the top spender.

Hawaii and Illinois have alternated between the top two spots for the past five years, according to the association.

Texas, with a budget of $25.1 million, is third in tourism spending this year. And, with an increase of $4.1 million, it appears to be closing in on Hawaii.

While Hawaii was not the only state to trim its travel promotion budget this year, its 23 percent cut was the biggest among the states. The difference is because last year Hawaii spent an additional $10 million in emergency funding for tourism marketing.

Still, the decrease runs counter to a national trend toward more spending on tourism.

Together, states will spend $478 million on tourism development this year or 6.5 percent more than last year, the survey found.

"They're not the only ones who lost" money, said association spokesman Michael Pina. "But overall spending is up."

California, which competes with Hawaii for many potential tourists,increased its travel promotion budget by 68 percent, although the total ($12.3 million) is still less than half what Hawaii spends.

Hawaii's biggest cut was in its advertising budget, which was slashed almost in half, from $11.1 million to $5.7 million.

Three months ago, a separate Travel Industry Association of America survey found that Hawaii was slipping in popularity as a favorite winter getaway for Americans, losing ground to states such as California, Florida and Nevada.