HTA study examines reinventing tourism oversight

HONOLULU — The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA) received an unfavorable rating from 43 percent of the stakeholders who gave feedback to the contractor working on a tourism governance structure recommendation.

Denise Miller, executive vice president of SMARInsights, told the HTA board during a special meeting on Monday that “the overall rating for HTA is more negative than positive, with a mean rating of 4.7 on a 10-point scale.”

Miller presented a slide to HTA that said the findings from 690 survey-takers highlight “the need for major changes at the organization. It has lost the confidence of its stakeholders, and minor adjustments will not be enough to reverse the negative perceptions and attitudes about the organization.”

Miller said “inefficiency and mismanagement” were among the key negative perceptions noted, along with an “insufficient focus on local and small-business needs, and perceived negative government involvement and over-regulation.”

She is part of a team assembled by Cathy Ritter, founder of Better Destinations LLC, the contractor hired by HTA to conduct an independent, third-party tourism governance study. The team also includes Karey Kapoi, owner of Karey Kapoi, and Place Generation co-founders Elke Dens and Frank Cuypers.

HTA board Chair Mufi Hannemann said the HTA board approved the $300,000 study at a low point after several contentious state legislative sessions, which resulted in lawmakers defunding the agency for two years and threatening its very existence.

Hannemann said HTA came out of this year’s state legislative session better than when it entered, and this time HTA is asking the tough questions of itself.

He said state lawmakers approved a recurring $63 million budget and codified HTA’s role in destination management. Hannemann said lawmakers approved $64 million to fix the Hawai‘i Convention Center and raised the center’s expenditure ceiling for operations and maintenance to $34 million.

He said another $3 million was approved by lawmakers so that HTA could start work on an tourism app, and “there wasn’t any more talk of putting us under the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.”

Instead, he said lawmakers shored up HTA by providing funding to increase full-time staff positions to 30 from 25 and to hire a chief brand officer and begin the search for a permanent president and CEO.

Hannemann said HTA also is making headway by increasing transparency and providing more opportunities for stakeholders to get involved. He said the new U.S. marketing and branding campaign is undergoing changes based on feedback from visitor industry stakeholders.

“It’s going to take time for these things to sink in. I’m not surprised at all by the findings. I’m not discouraged because I know that we are on the right path and we are trending in the right direction,” Hannemann said.

The tourism governance study is nearly final, and a recommendation is slated to be presented to the HTA board in June.

Ritter said the purpose of the study is to make a recommendation where Hawai‘i’s tourism governance delivers “strong outcomes for the state’s economy, to manage impacts on communities and natural resources, and for the greater benefit of Hawai‘i’s people and places.”

Ritter and her team gleaned insight into possibilities for Hawai‘i by analyzing governance case studies from 11 destinations, including California; Puerto Rico; Florida; Utah; Michigan; Ireland; Iceland; Vancouver Island; Bay of Plenty, New Zealand; Catalonia, Spain; and the Netherlands.

The team interviewed about 60 stakeholders, including members of Hawai‘i’s visitor industry, government leaders and representatives from communities throughout the state. Stakeholders evaluated three different governance scenarios ranging from tourist-focused to destination-focused to community-focused. They participated in co-creation labs and ideation sessions.

The HTA board and staff are participating in the study; however, Ritter said they have intentionally refrained from directing the work to ensure that it is a credible reflection of stakeholder perspectives across Hawai‘i.

So far, key takeaways from these perspectives suggest that HTA has more work to do. Here are a few:

w Though Hawai‘i tourism holds so much potential for addressing the state’s biggest concerns, many in Hawai‘i mistrust this economic force.

w Tourism generated more than $1.1 billion in transient accommodations taxes in 2023 — $846.3 million for the state and $275.2 million to counties. But there is little understanding of how tourism benefits people in Hawai‘i.

w Once a global model, HTA has been disempowered over the years. Its budget is smaller than when it was founded, and it has lost statutory provisions that let it respond swiftly and plan for the long term. Hawai‘i’s tourism budget ranks fourth after Visit California, Visit Florida and Discover Puerto Rico — all nonprofit destination management organizations.

w Hawai‘i’s tourism economy is softening. Perceptions of Hawai‘i as an unwelcoming destination have been accelerated by the Maui fires.

w Many see contractors, rather than the HTA, as the leaders of important Hawai‘i tourism initiatives.

w Local entities and communities want more say in how tourism is managed on their islands.

w People expect many things from the HTA — well beyond what is typically expected of a state tourism office.