STAR-BULLETIN FILE
The Hawaii Tourism Authority has given its final OK to splitting the responsibility for attracting visitors to Hawaii among five entities.
HTA OKs
marketing contractsThe HVCB will lose 29% of its
state funding under the plan
to have multiple entities
market Hawaii
The Hawaii Tourism Authority board gave final approval yesterday to splitting up the state's tourism marketing contracts, stripping the century-old Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau of about 29 percent of its state funding.
In a quick public vote that followed more than an hour of closed-door discussion, the state HTA gave its chief executive, Rex Johnson, the go-ahead to finalize and execute the contracts, which are to be signed before they take effect in January.
The HVCB, which will be responsible for attracting visitors from Hawaii's tourism stronghold, North America, will have a statewide contract totaling $22.1 million for leisure marketing in 2004, including $10.2 million that will go to its island visitors bureaus. That represents 69 percent of the total $32 million in state leisure marketing funds provided by the HTA.
The bureau will also retain a $2 million contract to attract business travelers. Last year, a state law removed the bureau from marketing the $350 million Hawaii Convention Center, and gave the job to SMG of Philadelphia.
One HTA board member, Starwood Hawaii executive Keith Vieira, walked out of yesterday's board meeting before the HTA voted on the contracts. Afterward, Vieira said the authority was spending too much time on investigating the Hawaii visitors bureau and getting overly involved in the contracted leisure marketing efforts.
"They are the day-to-day manager of the entire effort," Vieira said, and that's not what he joined the authority to do.
The HTA was set up in 1998 to oversee the state's tourism marketing contracts. In response to a scathing report this year from state Auditor Marion Higa on the practices of the HVCB and the oversight of the HTA, the tourism authority board has commissioned a further audit of the HVCB, and has hired special master John Candon to review the HVCB's operations and how it reports to the state.
The HTA is planning to discuss the findings in early January, Johnson said.
Vieira, a friend of former HVCB chief Tony Vericella, said he sees his role at the HTA as getting better tourism results, attracting more business travelers and getting the industry to participate in the efforts. "I don't see it as monitoring contracts on a day-to-day basis and spending all my time on audits," Vieira said.
Johnson said the HTA has spent $230,000 on further review of the visitors bureau because of a threat that the Legislature would convene an investigative committee with subpoena powers.
Dentsu Inc., Japan's largest advertising agency and Hawaii's new Japanese tourism marketer, will have a $7.5 million contract with the state. The Mangum Group, which will market to Europe, will have a $770,000 contract, while the company that markets to other Asian countries, Japan-based Marketing Garden Ltd., will have a $950,000 contract. The Walshe Group of New Zealand will have a $600,000 contract to attract visitors from Oceania.
The HTA expects Hawaii will end this year with 6.42 million visitor arrivals, down 0.6 percent from 6.45 million arrivals last year, and down 7.6 percent from a record 6.95 million arrivals in 2000. Visitor spending this year will increase to $10.5 billion dollars, up 4.8 percent from $10 billion last year.
Next year, the authority is targeting 7.9 percent growth in visitor spending, to reach a record total $11.3 billion. The authority is targeting 14 percent growth in Japanese visitor arrivals, following years of declines from that market.
The HTA is close to finalizing the 2004 marketing contracts and is wrapping up legal matters, Johnson said.
It took months after the beginning of the year to get the HVCB's 2003 contract executed, though the work was already taking place, a practice criticized by the state auditor. However, the 2003 contract contained several new controls, and the 2004 contracts are substantially based on the 2003 contract.
Hawaii Tourism Authority
Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau
Dentsu Inc.
Mangum Group
Marketing Garden Ltd.
The Walshe Group
