During the last legislative session, there was a general sense that the large surplus in tax revenue for spending was a quirk of the pandemic. Stimulus funds, along with construction and other essential industries, did keep the economy treading water until tourism was able to restart.

But all the federal dollars that flowed into Hawaii could not last, and the economic recovery that was jump-started in 2021 has not quite recouped what it lost.

And despite a strong rebound of tourism, thanks largely to the U.S. mainland visitor count, there is now concern about the slowing pace in other key sectors. Care must be taken to manage the bumpy economic ride. It’s clear, to start with, that government would be wise to stick to leaner budgeting going forward.

State economic experts have been watching the national trends of high inflation and interest rates and their local effect. Last week, they revised projections downward and projected that the recovery will take longer than expected.

According to a new report issued last week by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), Hawaii’s economy is expected to grow by 2.6% this year and 1.7% the next, down from forecasts of 3.2% and 2.5% from last May.

When translated into revenue from the state’s general excise tax and compared with earlier projections, that level of activity will yield $440 million less this year and $1 billion less next year.

Of course, these newer projections could change again, for better or worse, as the underlying conditions — the war in Ukraine affecting oil prices, supply-chain problems inflating consumer- goods pricing — continue to evolve. Or there could be a new, unanticipated economic shock.

Whatever happens, though, the latest revision serves as yet another reminder of Hawaii’s vulnerability due to its reliance on tourism.

It was a salvation that the American appetite for travel, suppressed during the worst of pandemic restrictions, fueled high visitor counts for Hawaii as tourism ramped up.

Also last week, DBEDT released the visitor-arrivals count for July: 919,154. This is the highest monthly count of tourists since January 2020, before the industry all but shut down due to COVID-19 restrictions. The agency also indicated that with this update, the tourism recovery had reached about the 92% mark.

Further, the travel demand from Japan, a crucial market, now is expected to increase gradually as well.

All good news, following months of the worst. During the early months of the pandemic, Hawaii’s fall into joblessness and the erosion of many small businesses put it in a worse situation than most other states faced. The state undeniably needed the quick influx of tax revenue to pull it out of an abyss, and the combination of federal aid with the surge in Hawaii’s tourism reopening accomplished that.

But sustaining Hawaii will require more economic support from its other sectors, particularly because the public no longer will accept unmitigated expansion of the visitor industry. According to the DBEDT report, the rising interest rates and inflation numbers have slowed investment in the construction and real estate industries, which had been two of the few pandemic bright spots.

Clearly, there is work to do. Officials should accelerate efforts to generally improve the state’s general business climate — consistently ranked at or near the bottom of the pack nationally. The city, for instance, must make headway to pare down delays in reviews by the Department of Planning and Permitting.

Most importantly, Hawaii must develop new areas of potential growth.

Economic diversification has been a bedrock policy talking point for the state’s leaders for many years, with many false starts at piloting new industries. Think “Mililani High Technology Park” for one such push that yielded very little.

There is hope of better results in the broad area of green energy, particularly now that Congress has passed the Inflation Reduction Act, a multibillion-dollar investment in renewables.

Further, areas of new emphasis should include astronomy: There is good reason why the state has sought to promote the research atop Mauna Kea as a win on multiple levels.

Add the potential for the health care industry, through the University of Hawaii medical school and the National Cancer Institute designation for the UH Cancer Center. Both could advance Hawaii’s lure as a “health tourism” destination, with patients from the Asia-Pacific Basin coming here for leading-edge medical treatment.

These will be critical issues for Hawaii in the coming years. And that makes the current election year the perfect opportunity for voters to press for answers — especially from the top candidates for the governor’s office.

Putting out concrete details for their economic development plans should be central to the campaign conversation. There will be no more crucial element than leadership in finding real solutions.