Putting aside Rex Johnson's Internet escapades and the concerns about his judgment, here are some pertinent questions: Is the Hawaii Tourism Authority a necessary organization? What is its purpose? It is clear that HTA has no influence whatsoever in the shaping of the product that will attract visitors. Therefore, unless HTA is given meaningful powers to help design our tourism industry, the office should be eliminated altogether and the taxpayer's money invested in more productive ways.

It seems to me that there is disconnect between the various entities that are, each in their own way, responsible for stimulating tourism and enticing visitors to come to Hawaii.

Take Honolulu as an example. We have the City and County, which is giving away building permits like candy in pursuit of its vision to make Honolulu a major urban center with huge skyscrapers and perennial construction sites despite inadequate infrastructures. As a result, roads are in a continuous state of disrepair, thus creating horrendous traffic jams, and sewage is frequently overflowing. However, those responsible for implementing “;the vision”; seem oblivious as to what visitors are really looking for.

We have the hospitality industry. They are building or extending enormous hotels but ignoring the fact that outside their properties there are very few amenities left that justify visitors flying at least six hours and spending a considerable amount of money to come to Hawaii. Hotels are now desperately trying to reverse the course and woo visitors with tidbits like “;breakfast included, telephone surcharges eliminated”; (they were absurd in the first place, anyway). Nothing seems more pathetic than trying to close the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Then we have high-end shops and boutiques. The problem is that they are carbon copies of shops that can be found anywhere in the world, selling the same merchandise but at a higher price. That's not much of an enticement to select Hawaii as the vacation destination of choice.

And we have the state, which, as I understand it, is responsible for advertising and promoting Hawaii. And here is where HTA comes into play. But what if they are marketing a product that is now out of date and no longer offers what the visitors want? It would be a waste of money, would it not?

If tourism is considered an important part of Hawaii's economy and if HTA wants to be relevant and justify its cost, it needs to be involved in most aspects of the planning from the very beginning. HTA should research and learn the needs and wants of the visitors and give advice to the planners on the dos and don'ts before they embark on projects that might be detrimental to the tourism industry. They must be aware, and make the planners aware, of the fact that visitors have choices and if we don't provide what they want, they will look elsewhere. We are seeing it happening now.

The lame excuses given - “;it's the economy”; or blaming the decrease in airline seats for the lack of visitors - are just not sustainable. Plenty of seats are still available. Other countries have reasonably steady economies and strong currencies, but their tourists are not coming here. If it is to exist and perform in a meaningful way, HTA must find the reasons why, then propose and implement solutions.

HTA must take responsibility for delivering the much-needed revenue that tourism generates, find effective strategies and give sound and informed advice to all the other organizations involved with the visitor industry. Then, and only then, will it be an efficient organization that justifies the considerable amount of taxpayer money that it spends.