No one cares moreTo the Forum:

Last week I sent a letter to the editor about the Sierra Club’s position

regarding Hawai`i Tourism Authority (HTA) funding for the Hawai`i Visitors and

Convention Bureau (HVCB).

There is no one that cares more about our

environment and our natural resources than I do, and in the past, the Sierra

Club’s principles in protecting our environment have been applauded by me.

Certainly, I admire the fact that volunteers from the Sierra Club and many

others clean trails, restore native species and do clean-ups.

It was just

a few months ago that I spent a day helping to rebuild the pavilion up in

Koke`e. I am very concerned about what’s happening in our state parks and the

problems that the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) have in

financing capital improvements and providing enough money for their maintenance

budgets.

I have lobbied other members of the Kaua`i Business Council (KCB)

to provide testimony and do lobbying at our Capitol to seek additional funds to

protect our natural resources and to provide adequate facilities such as

restrooms for our visitors when they are here.

Currently, the DLNR gets a

whopping $22 million to protect all our parks throughout the state park

system. Clearly, that is not enough. It would be wonderful if the Department

of Transportation (DOT) could take over the road maintenance in the state park

system, then use those additional funds for such things as creating a parking

lot at Ha’ena and building additional restroom facilities and funding

additional maintenance. Sadly, none of this can be done with existing

funds.

The attack by the Sierra Club, though, on the tourism funds is

clearly an effort to put a cog in the engine that drives the economy of our

state and much of its revenue. In their attempt to do this, they do a

disservice to the people of the State of Hawai`i and all the jobs (42 percent

on Kauai) that it creates. It might be helpful if the community was aware of

how the Hotel Transit and Accommodations Tax (TAT) came about.

In the

early 1980s, much effort was made to lobby all of the accommodations (hotels

and resorts) people for a room tax, and they adamantly refused and worked

diligently against the legislator to block the TAT. The legislature proposed

that this would be a permanent funding for the Hawai`i Visitors Bureau (HVB),

and a source of funds to build a convention center.

So, after much

aggressive lobbying efforts, the accommodations people agreed to the TAT. (As

we all know, the legislature can’t always deliver on their promises.)

Several things happened at the legislature over the pursuing years,

including raising the TAT. There was a very difficult time finding a

convention center site, and the excess funds were gradually shifted to the

counties. The counties became dependent upon these funds. Finally, the

legislature in an attempt to provide consistent long-range planning for the

visitor industry decided to create the HTA.

In the past, funds were

appropriated in the legislature each and every year and funds expired each year

so there could be no long-range marketing efforts. Additionally, several

legislators had special projects that they wanted to see get funded which

depleted the net amount that was actually delivered to HVCB. Consequently, we

were not approaching the marketing efforts in an economically sound way.

So, the legislature adopted a plan and created the Hawai`i Tourism Authority

(HTA). The HTA then went out and solicited for Requests for Proposals on how

best to market Hawai`i and (in the end) agreed to enter into a three (3) year

long-range contract with HVCB to do so. This will give HVCB the opportunity to

look at their plans over a longer period of time making sound business

decisions that will better impact how the marketing dollars are being spent

benefiting us all.

It is important for everyone to realize that the

funding for HTA and HVCB is not coming from the taxpayers. These are funds

that are being provided by the tourists themselves and collected through the

TAT.

Gregg Gardiner