hawaii's tourism in crisis mode

Hawaii’s tourism industry is in “crisis mode” and is underappreciated, according to a new economic report.
The report, “Assessing Tourism’s Contribution to the Hawaii Economy,” said that tourism touches jobs, tax revenues and other areas of Hawaii’s economy, and the downturn in the visitor industry is impacting the rest of the local economy.
First Hawaiian Bank commissioned economist Leroy Laney to produce the report.
“Foremost, the tourism industry has an overwhelming economic importance for Hawaii,” Laney said in a statement. “It is imperative that all possible actions be taken to remedy the situation. If that does not happen, or until it does, the Hawaii economy will remain anemic. Employment in all sectors will be down, as will tax revenues, business profits and overall economic well being.”
Tourism touched an estimated 74 percent of jobs in Hawaii in 2007, according to the report.
State taxes attributed directly to the visitor industry in 2007 accounted for 25 percent, or $1.2 billion, of general fund revenues, the report said. And based on Council on Revenue estimates, the downturn in tourism caused a 2.5 percent decline in the general fund in 2008.
Laney said in the report that local attitudes toward tourism vary, but it is underappreciated by many. Residents view visitors as competing with them for resources. “There is often a strong, unfounded perception of competition (versus partnership) between visitors and residents over limited resources,” Laney said. “Residents often identify the tourism industry with the higher cost of living in Hawaii, and also with traffic congestion. There is little appreciation that tourism enhances the quality of life of our citizens and the economic development of other industries. Marketing efforts that are internally as well as externally focused can help alleviate this problem.”
Laney also said Hawaii’s infrastructure — parks, roads and other public facilities — need to be upgraded and maintained so that visitors can feel safe in comparison to other destinations.
The report forecasts that over the next three years the visitor industry in Hawaii -- a major tourist destination for Californians -- may return to positive growth, but the growth will be slow. Laney estimated a 1 percent and 3 percent growth in visitor arrivals for 2010 and 2011, respectively.