LIHU’E – A bill making its way through the state Legislature would cut $10 million to $12 million in Hawaii Tourism Authority funding. Local visitor industry officials say this cut would have harmful negative impacts on Kaua’i in areas such
LIHU’E – A bill making its way through the state Legislature would cut $10 million to $12 million in Hawaii Tourism Authority funding.
Local visitor industry officials say this cut would have harmful negative impacts on Kaua’i in areas such as tourism promotion and funding of cultural and community events large and small.
Gary Baldwin, Kaua’i member of the HTA, said the cut in HTA funds would mean the Kaua’i Visitors Bureau would have around $600,000 less a year with which to promote the island.
“It will hurt the Neighbor Islands greatly,” said Baldwin. “I’m very HTA concerned.”
“This is just a bad bill, and a bad idea,” said Bob Mullins, chair of the Kaua’i Visitors Bureau board of directors and a board member of the Kaua’i Chamber of Commerce, co-chairing the legislative and governmental affairs committee.
“We need to stay the course, basically,” said Mullins, who supports the state House of Representatives’ position of keeping HTA funding at $61 million.
HTA funding comes from proceeds of the state’s transient accommodations tax (TAT, or hotel-room tax), and is used mainly to promote Hawai’i as a visitor destination.
HTA funding is currently capped at $62 million, with a House proposal to cap HTA funding at $61 million with the additional $1 million to go to state parks upkeep.
House Bill 2251, Senate Draft 1, would cap HTA funding at $50 million, with anything over $52 million from the TAT to go directly into the state general fund.
That bill, still alive and scheduled to be heard Monday by the Senate’s Ways and Means Committee, would have disastrous impacts on Kaua’i, various members of the chamber’s Legislative Committee said recently.
“Don’t cut the economic engine,” said Sam Pratt, referring to one of HTA’s primary duties of tourism promotion.
The HTA has done an outstanding job revitalizing through funding Kaua’i events that had disappeared, and any cuts would be “disastrous,” said Roger Cable, a chamber Legislative Committee member.
Lelan Nishek said HTA funding should be kept at current levels if for no other reason than its funding of cultural events.
The counties depend on HTA funding for events large and small, said Mamo Cummings, president of the Kaua’i Chamber of Commerce.
The various versions of the HTA funding-cap bills are heading to a joint House-Senate conference committee near the end of the session, because the Senate position is to cut HTA funding, and the House favors the status quo, Baldwin explained.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
