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Led by Senate Tourism Committee chairwoman Sen. Donna Kim's criticism of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the Senate voted to scrap the program by 2003 if it doesn't improve its accountability. Senate gives tourist
agency an ultimatumBy Richard Borreca
Star-Bulletin
In a speech on the Senate floor last night, Kim said "being supportive of the tourist industry doesn't mean we have to be rubber stamps."
Kim said although the agency, the state's top tourism promotion organization with a $60 million annual budget, has handled many marketing and promotional activities, it has not planned well.
"The HTA has grossly neglected its many other obligations and has not lived up to its legislative mandate," she said.
For instance, she said, the HTA gives $45 million a year to the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau for marketing and promotion, but has never conducted a comprehensive yearly evaluation of the bureau's effectiveness.
Robert Fishman, HTA executive director, said that Kim's criticisms aren't supported in the tourism industry.
"Clearly, there is a disagreement between Sen. Kim and the rest of the community," he said. "If you ask any stakeholder, they will say the HTA and the members of the HTA lived up to their trust."
He said the work of the HTA, which was organized in 1998 to supervise the state's private tourism industry, has been "very effective at a time when the tourism industry needed a revitalization."
Kim's bill calls for a financial audit of the HTA and if improvements aren't made, canceling it by June 2003. The bill passed on an 18-7 vote. One of those against the plan was Sen. Carol Fukunaga, (D-Makiki), who said that while she supports auditing the HTA, she didn't want to drop the authority.
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