Editorial: Marketing to few Hawaii tourists

The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) spends millions of dollars trying to attract visitors to our shores. But now with tourism practically stopped, should HTA stop, too? At least temporarily?

It’s a tough question to answer. Last year at this time, no one could have predicted the near-complete collapse of Hawaii’s tourism industry just a few short months later — especially after a banner year in 2019. HTA’s marketing plans, understandably, were based on very different projections. Unfortunately, it appears that HTA ventured out far enough to get caught in the COVID-19 trap.

The Star-Advertiser’s Allison Schaefers reported this week that as the tourism apocalypse hit with full force last April, HTA found itself spending roughly $15,614 on marketing for every visitor from Japan who came to Hawaii. In November, the number was more modest but still eyebrow-raising: $381 for each visitor.

For the 2020 fiscal year (which encompassed half of 2019), the cost of bringing in a visitor rose in major markets: $7.13 per arrival for U.S. visitors, up more than 118%; $17.17 for Japan, up nearly 201%; $2.01 for Canada, nearly 36%.

Was it money wasted? Some of it, no doubt. But HTA can’t just stop. Hawaii’s economy depends heavily on the visitor industry, and state tourism officials must lay the groundwork for a better future, even if the near term looks grim. And with the drying up of HTA’s primary source of funding — the transient accommodations tax — the agency now has to be more strategic in how it spends its dwindling resources.

That may not be a bad thing. Hawaii’s tourism industry has been roundly criticized for a single-minded focus on filling airplane seats, which it did with great success in 2019 — 10.4 million visitors crowding up against increasingly disillusioned locals. Many residents have come to enjoy more peaceful beaches and other attractions in recent months, and some don’t relish the thought of reopening too quickly, with COVID-19 still out of control.

So it’s encouraging to see that HTA and its sister agency, the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, are designing programs to attract the discerning visitor, one who will appreciate and respect Hawaii’s culture and values rather than treat the islands as a mere playground. Quality, not just quantity, should be tourism’s watchword going forward.