FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Because Hawaii's visitor industry is expected to continue performing well, the state granted the Hawaii Tourism Authority its first major budget increase since it was set up in 1999. Above, visitors cruised the sidewalks of Waikiki earlier this month looking for shopping deals.

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HTA gets
budget increase

Higher tax revenues from visitors
allow the agency to boost
its spending for fiscal
2006 to $69 million

The state Hawaii Tourism Authority adopted a $69.2 million fiscal 2006 budget yesterday, its first major increase since the marketing oversight agency was established in 1999.

Improved visitor tax collections have shored up the board's budget by an additional $8.2 million, a 13 percent increase over the previous year.

"The hotel room rates are up, the visitor counts are up, generally it's a rosy picture across the board," said Frank Haas, marketing director for the HTA.

Hawaii tourism also has benefited from a strong U.S. economy, a trend toward more leisure travel and good support from the airline industry, Haas said.

Because Hawaii's visitor industry is expected to continue performing, HTA budget projections for 2007 and 2008 also include increases.

The tourism budget is expected to reach $70.7 million in 2007, and hit $77.6 million in 2008, when the state begins returning a higher percentage of its transient accommodations tax collections to the HTA.

The 2006 increase comes just in time for the HTA to implement some of the objectives discussed in the strategic plan that was adopted this year, said Lloyd I. Unebasami, chief administrative officer for the HTA.

The new vision, which is designed to manage the state's visitor industry through 2015, identifies nine initiatives, including marketing, tourism product development, natural resources, Hawaiian culture, access, safety and security, communications and outreach, research and planning, and work force development.

"With the additional money, we were able to fund some of the new areas that we talked about in our initiatives," Unebasami said.

Notable budget increases follow the goals outlined in the tourism plan, with an emphasis on spending to improve the quality of life for residents as well as visitors, said Rex Johnson, HTA president and chief executive officer.

Significant allocations were made to natural resources, culture, and work-force development, Johnson said.

"We need to make Hawaii a wonderful place to live as well as visit," he said.

The HTA approved doubling its natural resources allocation to $2 million. The state's environmental goals include increased funding for the maintenance and preservation of natural resources. The state plan also discusses offering financial incentives to private landowners so they will open their private resources to the public.

The new tourism budget shored up its cultural initiative by an additional $850,000, bringing the total amount to $1.5 million.

Cultural goals for the state include developing certification for tour operators as well as creating other opportunities to educate the public about the state's Hawaiian and multi-ethnic cultures.

The cultural allocation will be used to bolster Native Hawaiian Festivals, host a conference that examines the relationship between tourism and culture, and develop programs with the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association, said Muriel A. Anderson, director of tourism programs.

Work-force development rose from $100,000 to $500,000 under the new HTA budget. The additional money will be used to increase high school and college job-training programs.

The HTA also increased its marketing budget to $51.25 million, a 4 percent rise over the year prior. Among the state's tourism marketing goals are to increase visitor spending, diversify Hawaii's tourism market and develop new products such as sports or cultural events.

The money will be used to keep Hawaii in the forefront as a destination for visitors, Haas said. Although leisure travel has picked up across the globe, Hawaii increasingly has to compete with emerging destinations, he said.

Mexico, the Caribbean, Asia and Australia are strong competitors for Hawaii's core U.S. West, U.S. East, and Japan markets, Johnson said.

"We're having a marvelous year, but it's a fragile industry," he said.

The HTA also was able to increase its airline budget two-and-a-half times. The board will use its $1 million appropriation to encourage airlines to add seats and routes, Haas said.

"As an island destination our airline program is very important," he said. "Visitors can't get here in a Buick."

The increase in airline seats, which rose more than 14 percent during this spring and summer, is thought to be one of the major reasons Hawaii's visitor industry has been booming, Haas said.

The HTA budget also provides money to increase visitor satisfaction. The board's greeting program, which welcomes visitors at harbors and airports, will rise from $400,000 to $1.6 million.

"When visitors come here, we want to give them an immediate sense that Hawaii is a special place," Haas said.

In other business, the board re-elected John J. Toner, executive vice president of Ko Olina Resort Association, to serve another term as its chairman and elected Douglas Kahikina Chang, general manager of the Hotel Hana Maui, to serve as vice chairman.

In addition, the board welcomed Ronald K. Yamakawa, executive director of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, as its newest ex-officio member.