The Hawaii Tourism Authority Board of Directors elected former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann to serve as HTA’s new chair at a special board meeting today.

Hannemann replaces HTA Chair Blaine Miyasato, who is Hawaiian Airlines’ managing director of state and local government affairs and is stepping down due to additional responsibilities related to Alaska Airlines’ acquisition of Hawaiian. Miyasato will continue serving as one of HTA’s 12 board members.

HTA Interim President and CEO Daniel Naho‘opi‘i said, “Mufi Hannemann is a proven, well-respected leader who has a strong vision and passion for how HTA and tourism can make Hawaii a better place to live and work. We are grateful to Former Chair Miyasato for his leadership, and we look forward to working with Chair Hannemann to continue HTA’s work on behalf of the people of Hawaii.”

Hannemann, who is president and chief executive officer of the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association, also is a member of the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board.

“HTA carries with it the duty to always do what’s best for the future of Hawaii and its people, while guiding our state’s largest and most important industry to be continually successful in the extremely competitive global tourism economy,” Hannemann said in a statement. “I’m honored to have the board’s confidence in serving as chair and look forward to working collaboratively with Governor Josh Green, our Legislature, and HTA’s leadership team to respond to the challenges faced by the industry so that everyone can share in the benefits tourism generates for Hawaii, while also taking care of our communities.”