Peter Apo, founding member of the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association. Courtesy photo.

A coalition of community leaders, cultural authorities and visitor industry experts held a press conference against changes to House Bill 862 in the State of Hawaii Senate.

The coalition says the legislation “threatens to eradicate three of the four strategic pillars of the Hawaiian Tourism Authority” and fears that the changes “will undermine the agency’s ability to do anything but commercialize Hawaii while also undermining the state’s ability to effectively managing tourism for the benefit of Hawaii’s people, culture and environment. “

As a result of the language included in HB 862According to the coalition, programs for Hawaiian cultural training, local entrepreneurship, sustainability and visitor assistance could be reduced or canceled.

A joint committee of the Legislative Conference on Thursday recommended that the measure be passed with amendments.

“HTA was created to manage tourism, not just to market tourism. As the bill is currently written, HTA only has a marketing budget. Everything else goes away, ”said NaHHA CEO John Aeto. “The transition from HB 862 threatens to undo years of progress and bring us back to a time when nobody was leading a fast-growing industry. Tourism just doesn’t exist in a bubble – it impacts the community, our unique culture, and Hawaii’s fragile natural resources. “

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“The moment the community has expressed the need to strengthen the link between our utility and the economic engine of our state, HTA’s ability to be the only nationwide, coordinated effort becomes straight into the needs of Investing kamaʻāina does not help. ”Said Kekoa McClellan, spokesman for the Hawaiian chapter of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, who spoke out against the proposed cuts.

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“While none of us in the community want tourism to be such a big part of our economy and our future, we can at least ensure that tourism is in line with our values ​​in the community and taking care of our places,” said Dr. Noe Noe Wong-Wilson, a veteran of the visitor industry and leader of the Future Aloha Economic Development Futures Initiative.

“Over the years, in the absence of the Hawaiian Tourism Bureau, there has been no focus to address the growing impact the industry has on our people and communities,” said Peter Apo, former lawmaker, advisor and founder of the visitor industry board member of the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association. “We cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that tourism is an industry that naturally creeps into every corner of an island’s fragile ecosystem and, if not properly managed, can have a debilitating effect on the world’s quality of life for the people of Hawaii. “

“The government needs to consider whether Hawaii is selling a dormitory with sandy beaches or proudly showing the world a deep, rich culture in a visit,” said Dr. Pualani Kanakaʻole Kanahele, a highly respected cultural authority and ʻohana NaHHA co-founder Dr. George Kanahele. “To do this, we not only have to protect the culture, but also support it. Our plea to the poʻe aupuni (legislature) is to rethink the HTA bill. It is your kuleana (deep responsibility) and reciprocity for aloha ‘aina (administration of the land). “

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“Small nonprofits have worked tirelessly with HTA over the past few years,” said Mehanaokalā Hind, senior vice president of community programs for the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement. “Now that we have a native Hawaiian to lead the organization with a vision of connecting our communities to the industries that drive our economy, we felt we had an opportunity. With what the legislature is proposing, he takes a step back. It goes back ten steps. “

“The reason for the creation of the Hawai’i Tourism Authority was to have a government agency that focuses on the interaction between the state and tourism. It didn’t exist before, ”said Rick Egged, president of the Waikīkī Improvement Association, vice chairman of the Hawaiian Visitor Aloha Society and former director of the State Planning Bureau of Hawaii when HTA was formed. “There have been ups and downs, but over the past 22 years HTA has done a good job – and is ready to do an even better job. Leadership has never been better. “

“The Hawai’i Tourism Authority’s strategic plan has the right words in it – sustainability, community, culture, environment. When the HTA board carefully named John De Fries President and CEO, I was so excited and optimistic that there would finally be some traction, ”said Dr. Pauline Sheldon, an internationally recognized tourism expert and former dean of the School of School of Hawaii Travel Management Management.

“Other travel destinations are exactly exposed to whiplash, from overtourism to no tourism. They are looking for role models and for Hawaii, ”said Dr. Sheldon. “The decisions we make resonate around the world. We now have a way towards sustainable and regenerative tourism. We shouldn’t withdraw that. We shouldn’t cut funding for HTA. “

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