Audit of the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority

from Office of the Auditor State of Hawai`i, April, 2025 (excerpts)

Something new is something old:

…HTA’s lack of accountability, lack of measurable results, and lack of tracking of progress have been recurring themes in past audits by the Office of the Auditor. HTA’s inability to demonstrate its effectiveness undermines its credibility with the public and policymakers, as well as its ability to effectively make data-driven decisions and allocate resources to achieve destination management strategic objectives. …

HTA’s proclaimed new “emphasis” on destination management in its current strategic plan is not materially different from its prior strategic plan….

HTA’s strategic plan’s destination management components are essentially unchanged from its prior strategic plan adopted in 2016. Although not referred to as “destination management,” a large part of HTA’s 2016 strategic plan related to the same goals as its current strategic plan. …

The Authority has been doing what it would eventually define as “destination management” since at least 2005.

Our review of HTA’s prior plans showed that, at least as early as 2005, the Authority’s strategic planning included goals and objectives that would largely be encompassed within the current plan’s definition of destination management. In 2003, HTA began revising its prior 2002 strategic plan in a process that included an update of studies examining Hawai‘i’s competitive position; a review of a 2004 Sustainable Tourism in Hawai‘i Study; and the gathering of comments, suggestions and concerns from the community and industry. The result was the Hawai‘i Tourism Strategic Plan: 2005-2015, which was meant to be a “comprehensive and inclusive plan” that addressed the needs, as well as identified the responsibilities, of all visitor industry stakeholders. …

Although the 2005 plan did not use the term destination management or destination stewardship, it referred to “sustainable tourism,” noting that “[a] successful, sustainable tourism industry in Hawai‘i honors Hawai‘i’s host culture, its people and their history; protects its unique natural environment; and engages local communities.” Among the 2005 plan’s guiding principles was sustainability, which was defined as: “To maximize social and economic benefits to Hawai‘i’s communities and businesses while respecting, nourishing, preserving and enhancing Hawai‘i’s natural, cultural and human assets.” The 2005 plan was “designed to guide Hawai‘i to achieve its 2015 vision of a successful and sustainable tourism industry that will benefit all stakeholders.” Another overall objective of the 2005 strategic plan was to increase visitor expenditures, in part by attracting higher-spending visitors. To accomplish this, marketing programs would target visitors with high per-day and/or per-trip spending patterns….

Ultimately, visitor arrivals would rise consecutively for nine straight years from 2010 through 2019. In contrast, resident support for the industry would decline during that period. …

In a broad sense, HTA’s current destination management efforts are manifested in marketing messages that target high-spending visitors and instruct them on etiquette. …

Although HTA has been practicing destination management for years, it has yet to establish policies and procedures or complete organizational restructuring to support those efforts. …

Without adequate HTA leadership and oversight, the DMAP actions and sub-actions were efforts that were dubious or impractical. … 

Summary of Findings

1. HTA’s destination management focus is not new – or effective – and the agency remains unable to gauge its own performance.

2. HTA’s expedited DMAP effort was poorly planned and executed with key decisions deferred to third-party contractors and island steering committees. The result: Many of the actions did not address hotspots, were underway or already achieved, or were impractical. …

read … FULL REPORT

SA: State audit criticizes Hawai‘i Tourism Authority’s destination management | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

BH: Big Plan To Fix Hawaii Tourism Just Got A Brutal Reality Check - Beat of Hawaii