The pressure is on the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) to scale back its spending aspirations, and that’s coming straight from the top — the governor’s office. But the HTA board of directors isn’t on the same page with the administration, and that tug of war is now playing out in public.
There’s a $10 million gap between HTA’s ask for its annual budget, $80 million, and the $70 million endorsed by James Kunane Tokioka, director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), which administratively oversees the HTA. Both Tokioka and Gov. Josh Green are aligned in opposition to a recently increased salary approved by the board for its CEO, a role currently open; that pay is $300,000, but Tokioka says the highest Green will go is $188,800, matching the state lieutenant governor’s current salary.
These differences signal a troubling disconnect between what the HTA and the administration want. The governor has the upper hand here, both because there are big-picture needs to contend with and because HTA has not shown that spending more will produce more state revenue.
What’s needed is hard data showing that HTA’s strategy will pay off for Hawaii — and in the meantime, a good measure of restraint in asking for more money, whether for tourism initiatives or executive pay.
The governor’s justification for asking HTA to spend less is that the agency has streamlined its operations and downsized staff, relying more on contractors and shrinking executives’ purview. That’s persuasive.
Green’s argument that state salaries should be “aligned” is also valid. While some complex and powerful positions justify higher salaries, it’s worth noting that Keith Hayashi, superintendent of the sprawling state Department of Education (DOE), earns $240,000. From the public’s point of view, HTA hasn’t shown that its CEO delivers more benefit.
Meanwhile, HTA’s current budget allocation for the coming fiscal year is $63 million, actually lower than Tokioka’s ask. HTA will need to present persuasive evidence to justify increasing it to $70 million, let alone
$80 million.
With this budget tussle as a backdrop, HTA has declared a “tourism emergency” exists, as it did for the first time in 2023 after the Maui wildfires. HTA now seeks approval to access another $5 million in the Tourism Emergency Special Fund for recovery initiatives and “saturation campaigns,” such as a September program in Los Angeles. Approval from DBEDT, the state Department of Budget and Finance and the governor will be required.
Tourism data shows that visitor arrivals have declined slightly in 2024 — affected by the Maui wildfires, strong competition from other global destinations and the strong U.S. dollar, which especially discouraged travel from Japan, Hawaii’s top international market. That’s already provoked the HTA board to direct the agency to focus on drawing more tourists, prioritizing a “quick return” market recovery in 2025.
Once again, however, given the administration’s desire for fiscal restraint, spending emergency funds for a “quick return” must be supported with hard data, such as proof that the L.A. campaign returned adequate value.
The Japanese slump should impress upon Hawaii’s tourism industry that diversification and innovation are necessities, as is a clear view of the tourism industry’s support for a recovery effort. AT Marketing’s Toby Tamaye suggests Hawaii businesses “add value” to vacations via promotional packages and discounts as incentives, and this too must be considered.
Rather than drain emergency budgets and pump up salaries, more quick-pivot measures should be emphasized — such as the state’s partnership with Hawaii’s visitor industry to offer discounted hotel rooms for Californians affected by the L.A. fires. This has extra allure as a cost-smart measure with potentially high returns in global good will — a standard worthy of emulating.
