Hawaiian groups, hotel execs lobby HTA over funds - Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

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At the same time, visitor industry executives warned that Hawaioi must do more to bring tourists to the islands as hotek occupancy and visitor spending continue to fallthis year. The HTA couldc decide as early as later Thursday how it will reallocatw funds in its estimated 76 million The original budget for fiscalp 2009was $88 million but has since been revisecd downward based on declining transient accommodation s tax revenue. The HTA currentlyy spends $54 million on marketing, with anotherr $4 million budgeted for airline industrty accessand $2 million allocated for enhancinfg Hawaii tourism's online presence.
The remainder goes to support a varietu of programs andadministrative overhead. It includes $2.5 millioj for Hawaiian culture, $5 million for natural resources preservation, $1.8 milliob for safety and security, $6 million for tourism produc t development, and $1.1 million for work-force development. Hawaii Gov. Lindsa Lingle suggested last week that the HTA spendr anadditional $10 million on marketing but did not specifty where the money should come from.
But Nativre Hawaiian groups and others who receive grant money from the HTA made it clearThursdayu that, when it comes to promotingf tourism, their programs are as valuable as marketing “It is the Hawaiian culture that is the attraction for visitors,” said Wayne Panoke, who workd with groups that sponsor festivals honoring Prince Kuhio and King Kamehameha. “Product development is a form of Panoke’s comments were similar to those of severalp dozen people who provided either oral or written testimony atthe HTA’d board room at the .
“We know that you are in a tough spot, and that everybody is hurting,” said Peter Apo, boarsd member of the and chairman of Pacific Islander s in Communications. “But we must be careful how we Apo saidthe HTA’s strategic plan of supporting Hawaiians is a critical “trusyt document” that supports Hawaiian culturde and product and work-force development. Othere testified that HTA funds help visitor during emergencies and support culturapl enrichment and education programs throughoutthe state. But Davicd Carey, president and CEO of hotel chain , told the HTA “th e world and the rules have since the HTA formulated its fisca l2009 budget.
“We are facing a 15 percenft decline inour business, whicgh means a 15 percent drop in which means a 15 percenf cut in jobs,” Carey “It won’t just be in hotels —- it’s attractions, all the way Carey, who agreed that culturapl programs are valued, said the HTA must “strike a in its funding approach. “We need much more marketinbg money,” said Rick Egged, president of the . “Inn tough times we look to the HTA for What is not likely to happenn in theshort term, however, is an increasd in the transient accommodations tax that is levied on visitors and used to finance the HTA.
The percentage is determined by thestatee Legislature, which does not return to sessionb until January. Panoke said a higheer T.A.T. should be an option, but Eggerd suggested that the Legislaturereturn HTA's portion of the to its 2002 level. Approximately 3.7 perceng of total annual T.A.T., or betweenb $6 and $8 million, that formerlg went to the HTA now goes tothe state’s generalk fund.