A stream of middling-to-bad news has emitted from Hawaii’s tourism reports, post-COVID, with a sustained reduction in Japanese tourism and flat or somewhat lower numbers of North American and European visitors. The pandemic, inflation, war in Ukraine and a catastrophic Maui fire that destroyed Lahaina are factors, lest we forget; nonetheless, the state-funded Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) stands directly in the channel between Hawaii and its tourists, and it’s expected to dissolve or work around any obstacles standing in the way of satisfying profits for the tourism industry, tax collections by the state and standards of living for the state’s full-time residents and workers.

Most recently, a survey of stakeholders who work with or are affected by the HTA revealed that these interested parties are roughly split and lean negative over whether they believe HTA is doing its job well. According to the survey contractor, hired by HTA to study a potential restructuring, responses show “the need for major changes.”

Some of these “major” changes may have already begun, in that state lawmakers have codified HTA’s role in destination management as a mandatory duty. And it appears the Legislature is poised to allow HTA’s self-examination to play out, having approved a recurring $63 million budget.

As HTA board chair Mufi Hannemann said in response to the survey results, this time HTA is asking the tough questions of itself. Now, HTA must address these criticisms, and with cooperation from the Legislature, make necessary changes so that the administrative flaws prompting these high levels of dissatisfaction are corrected.

Ultimately, it’s essential that HTA, with the backing and direction of Hawaii’s leaders, manage tourism so that it clearly benefits communities as well as industry, without wasting taxpayer money. That must always be the bottom line.

In the survey, stakeholders criticized “inefficiency and mismanagement” at HTA, “insufficient focus on local and small-business needs,” and “negative government involvement and over-regulation” — with good reason. Multiple audits of the agency between 2002 and 2018 have faulted HTA for “poor accountability and failure to demonstrate its effectiveness,” as the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO) reported last year. UHERO analysts, all experts and longtime observers of the tourism economy, suggested that the agency should have more authority to coordinate action between state and county agencies, the industry and the community, and that its board be formally diversified to incorporate cultural and community interests.

Next month, recommendations from the HTA governance study will be presented to the HTA board. The intent is to structure the agency to deliver “strong outcomes for the state’s economy, to manage impacts on communities and natural resources, and for the greater benefit of Hawaii’s people and places.” That is emphatically what the state wants and needs from this publicly funded body.

Local entities and communities want more input in tourism management. This key finding must be incorporated, as should expanded authority for the agency, as necessary for fulfilling its statutory role to both support and manage tourism.

HTA’s pivot to destination management with a goal of sustaining Hawaii’s unique culture and environment is proper and must be developed, incorporating a sensitiv- ity to small business and localized concerns. And at the same time, it’s proper to recognize, for example, the effect a sustained lag in visitor recovery from Japan has on Oahu tourism, and to act nimbly in response, as HTA has done.

Last month, HTA launched new targeted global and Hawaii-based campaigns, aiming to “reinvigorate responsible travel demand from key markets around the world.” Note the word “responsible.” That goal must not be overlooked, and HTA must document the effectiveness of this effort to earn confidence from its stakeholders.

Should it prove successful, campaigns such as HTA’s current marketing theme, “The People. The Place. The Hawaiian Islands,” should be supported and continued. This program was designed to “uplift” individuals and small businesses that play a crucial part in forming Hawaii’s culture — “musicians, lei makers, chefs, farmers, culturalists, fashion designers” — and should be supported. Helping small-scale enterprises to thrive has a positive domino effect on Hawaii’s economy, as income generated remains in the islands longer.

HTA says its new marketing program “is aimed at the Hawaii target traveler, defined as those who are eco-conscious, mindful of safety precautions, interested in learning about the culture of the places that they visit.”

Let’s go with that, while also holding the tourism industry responsible for cooperating with the HTA to cultivate a higher- spending, responsible visitor, and with the state and communities to ensure that for each hotel room occupied, Hawaii’s environment and residents are better off at check-out time.