The Hawaii Tourism Authority, the state agency responsible for Hawaii’s tourism marketing, just announced its 14th staff departure since 2020, representing a nearly 44% turnover rate for the agency, which is still facing repeal by the state Legislature.
Marc Togashi, HTA’s vice president of finance, resigned effective Tuesday to start a new leadership position at the state Department of Human Resources Development.
“It has been my pleasure and a sincere privilege to serve the HTA and our board of directors, as we have been able to nimbly adapt and shift toward guiding a regenerative tourism future for our community,” Togashi said in a statement, adding, “I firmly believe in our mission and the hardworking, dedicated colleagues I’ve worked alongside over the years.”
Togashi’s departure is another big leadership loss for HTA. Since 2020 the agency has hired eight new employees to replace some of the 14 who left, but still has six positions open and five in active recruitment.
John De Fries, HTA’s president and CEO, said in a statement, “For nearly 12 years, Marc has anchored and guided HTA in various leadership capacities, supporting our agency through organizational transitions, prudently managing our financial affairs, and enhancing our processes and systems.”
Togashi, who joined HTA as fiscal manager in 2011, previously served as interim president and CEO, as well as acting chief administrative officer, in addition to leading the finance team.
De Fries said HTA is down six funded positions but is actively recruiting for only five while it figures out how to handle the void in procurement left by Togashi’s departure.
Togashi was tapped to handle procurement for HTA’s top piece of business, the U.S. tourism contract, after the August departure of former HTA Chief Administrative Officer Keith Regan, who left to become business management officer at the state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and is now comptroller for the state Department of Accounting and General Services, a Cabinet-level position in Gov. Josh Green’s administration.
Like Togashi, Regan’s chief duties at HTA weren’t focused on procurement. However, he took over the U.S. tourism contract procurement after the December 2021 departure of former HTA Chief Procurement Officer Ron Rodrigues, who left in the midst of a protest filed by the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement after HTA selected longtime contractor the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau for the multimillion-dollar award.
De Fries said HTA employee Tracey Fermahin, a procurement specialist, has been temporarily elevated to the position of procurement manager to lead the third procurement for Hawaii tourism destination brand management and marketing services for the U.S. market, as well as another procurement to provide support services for destination stewardship across all markets.
High employee turnover has been characteristic of HTA in the past decade as the agency has faced rising community and political pressure.
An amended version of House Bill 1375, which seeks to repeal HTA and create a Destination Management Agency, on Friday passed out of House Committee on Finance, the last committee referral.
The Senate Committee on Ways and Means will hear Senate Bill 1522 on Monday. The bill, which seeks to repeal the HTA and establish an Office of Tourism and Destination Management within the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, already has passed through its other committee referral by the Senate Committee on Energy, Economic Development and Tourism.
Previous changes made by the state Legislature reduced HTA’s budgeted positions from 32 in 2020 to 24 now; however, only 18 people are currently working at HTA.
De Fries said the various dynamics, which have been an issue from before his tenure, have made it difficult to attract and keep employees. He said the pandemic and Hawaii’s high cost of living also have caused employees to leave for the mainland.
“We were down four positions when I got here,” he said.
HTA also has struggled to keep its top leadership job filled. When De Fries joined HTA in September 2020, he became the agency’s third president and CEO in just 20 months.
De Fries’ hiring followed the departure of former HTA President and CEO Chris Tatum, who resigned effective Aug. 31, 2020. De Fries’ three-year contract ends Sept. 15, though he has yet to have an annual evaluation by the HTA board.
