Hawaii’s spotty record in shepherding tourism, the state’s economic mainstay, was the impetus for creating the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) via Act 156 in 1998.

The establishment of the separate, semiautonomous agency that became the HTA was a recommendation of the Economic Revitalization Task Force, which was formed after Japan’s economy tanked to shore up the tourism sector.

Now the Legislature seems determined to overhaul the tourism apparatus. Some lawmakers have concluded that the most recent challenges — including a botched procurement to handle both marketing and the HTA’s new push toward “destination management” — could be fixed by restructuring.

It is not at all clear that bills now advancing in each chamber of the Capitol will accomplish what they intend. Neither makes the compelling case that this restructuring is even necessary. Both would repeal the HTA, as a start:

>> Senate Bill 1522 would replace HTA with an “Office of Tourism and Destination Management,” transferring HTA functions, funding and positions to the new agency, placed within the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT).

>> House Bill 1375 would replace HTA with a new “Destination Management Agency,” one that’s focused more on the effort to manage the level of tourism and its impact on Hawaii’s natural and cultural resources.

A third bill, HB 1381, which sought to commission a study of alternative governance setups before embarking on the change, has stalled. But even without a formal study, lawmakers ought to think through the rationale for a radical change in HTA at this stage.

To begin with, the timing is far from optimal. The post-pandemic recovery of the tourism industry is still in flux, and a major upheaval at this point would be more disruptive than constructive.

HTA also has just issued its third set of requests for proposals (RFPs) to handle the authority’s marketing duties and destination management. Resolution, not revolution, is what’s needed after this chaotic process.

In its RFP announcement, the authority split these two tasks into separate contracts. However, HTA President and CEO John De Fries told senators at Thursday’s Energy, Economic Development and Tourism Committee hearing that it was possible the procurement process could deliver a single entity holding both contracts.

The division into two contracts had been the proposal of former Gov. David Ige’s DBEDT director, Mike McCartney, who had rescinded the most recent contract award to the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement.

The past contractor had been the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, whose handling of the state’s tourism marketing work had become institutionalized. But in 2021, McCartney also had rescinded the previous award to the bureau.

Twin contracts would ultimately put Hawaii in a more competitive position in the industry, he argued.

The more immediate result? Utter confusion.

Mufi Hannemann, president and CEO of the Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association, said association members would like to see “stronger, more laser-focused state tourism advocacy.

“Right now, it’s kind of unclear. Who is in charge? Is it DBEDT or is it HTA?” he said. “A lot of that is because of what has happened with the handling of the procurement contract.”

He’s right. Bringing needed clarity to the management of tourism — seen as the advantage of having HTA handle things — was not helped by all the back-and-forth.

Hannemann also told the senators that a tourism office within DBEDT could help coordinate the governor’s tourism policy, assuming a close working relationship within the administration and with the Legislature.

But lacking that good relationship, he added, coordination suffers and the private sector gets frustrated. And the public often has seen such relationships deteriorate.

Further, it is better to have tourism managed with some autonomy from the state executive branch, which can be overhauled every four or eight years. The industry needs planning that spans multiple governors’ terms.

And it needs stability and continuity. HTA leadership has pivoted toward delivering on the new objectives for tourism balanced with residents’ needs. Should it be given careful scrutiny by lawmakers on efficiency and economy? Absolutely.

But these bills are unlikely to have that effect.

State Sen. Glenn Wakai, majority floor leader, asked Chris Sadayasu, Gov. Josh Green’s nominee to head DBEDT, whether he preferred taking over the HTA. Sadayasu said he was fine with the way things are. Wakai then addressed De Fries.

“I think the HTA model works,” the senator said. “I think the problem we are having today is the execution… it’s just been a litany of mistakes.”

Agreed. Better that the Legislature work with HTA to fix those mistakes rather than to make another one by pointlessly moving around the deck chairs.