{"id":166884,"date":"2022-10-11T10:37:07","date_gmt":"2022-10-11T20:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=166884"},"modified":"2022-10-11T10:37:07","modified_gmt":"2022-10-11T20:37:07","slug":"opportunity-to-reform-tourism-brief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2022\/10\/11\/opportunity-to-reform-tourism-brief\/","title":{"rendered":"Opportunity to reform tourism explored in new UHERO<\/abbr> brief"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

\"shot<\/p>\n

The authors of a new University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Economic Research Organization (UHERO<\/abbr>) brief “believe that there is an opportunity to reform the way we manage Destination Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> to get better results.”<\/p>\n

According to Paul Brewbaker<\/strong>, Frank Haas<\/strong> and James Mak<\/strong>, public pressure has been mounting on the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Tourism Authority<\/a> (HTA<\/abbr>) to shift its focus from mostly marketing to destination management to mitigate tourism\u2019s negative impacts on the community. HTA<\/abbr>\u2019s 2020–2025 Â鶹´«Ã½ states that “This is the first strategic plan developed while HTA<\/abbr> is re-balancing our attention from mainly marketing to greater emphasis on destination management.” In the past, HTA<\/abbr> responded to community concerns about tourism\u2019s negative impacts only on “an informal basis.”<\/p>\n

Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> has a long history of community-based tourism planning going back to the 1970s. According to the authors, the problem has been implementation. The biggest hurdle has been the lack of effective coordination among tourism\u2019s many and diverse stakeholders.<\/p>\n

HTA<\/abbr> does seem to have statutory basis for managing Destination Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> via Chapter 201B-3 Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Revised Statutes. But the language that gives HTA<\/abbr> authority to coordinate tourism\u2019s stakeholders to work together is weak. A stronger governance structure is called for.<\/p>\n

Destination Management Action Plan<\/h2>\n

In support of the broad 2020–2025 Â鶹´«Ã½, HTA<\/abbr> produced a Destination Management Action Plan (DMAP<\/abbr>) for each island to “rebuild, redefine and reset tourism\u2019s direction” over a three-year period. The DMAP<\/abbr>s were shaped by steering committees representing diverse stakeholders on each island. They lay out specific actions—consistent with the broad goals established in the strategic plan—for HTA<\/abbr> to undertake in collaboration with other tourism stakeholders. HTA<\/abbr> calls it a regenerative model of tourism.<\/p>\n

The DMAP<\/abbr>s are essentially ad hoc “to do” lists. Some proposed actions may be ill advised perhaps because they were not based on thorough research. Implementation of the actions and the 200 sub-actions in the DMAP<\/abbr>s are divided into three phases. For example, Action A of the Oʻahu<\/span> DMAP<\/abbr> aims to “decrease the total number of visitors to Oʻahu<\/span> to a manageable level.” Most sub-actions require more than one phase to complete.<\/p>\n

To assist in the implementation of DMAP<\/abbr> initiatives, HTA<\/abbr> solicited bids for a single contractor to manage both U.S. marketing and destination management. Combining these two functions recognizes the interplay between the marketing message for Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and the management of the place. The marketing part of the request for proposal aims to overhaul Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s brand to attract a different type of visitor to Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>; the destination management part aims to mitigate the negative spillover effects of tourism.<\/p>\n

The contract was awarded to the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, but the award was challenged by the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Visitors and Convention Bureau. Nonetheless, HTA<\/abbr> has begun to implement the DMAP<\/abbr>s.<\/p>\n

Opportunity to reform Destination Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> for better results<\/h2>\n

The authors argue that there is an opportunity to reform the way we manage Destination Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> to get better results. They consider a suggestion that a position be created for HTA<\/abbr>\u2019s CEO<\/abbr> in the governor\u2019s Cabinet to offer more opportunities for him\/her to access heads of other state departments and agencies. They note that if HTA<\/abbr> is elevated to the cabinet level it may lose even more of its autonomy.<\/p>\n

There is another approach. House Bill 1785 in 2022 would have required the Legislative Reference Bureau to study and evaluate alternative tourism governance systems. Unfortunately, the bill did not pass. The authors urge that it be reintroduced in the next legislative session, with adequate funding to support a high-quality study.<\/p>\n

Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> is not alone in grappling with tourism-related governance issues and the state could benefit from examining other models from around the world. In the meantime, strong leadership from the incoming governor is essential, according to the authors.<\/p>\n

“The governor has the power to bring the department\/agency heads to work together,” the authors said. “The governor needs to develop legislative packages (and budgets) derived from some of the best ideas from the DMAP<\/abbr>s with input from state agencies. HÂ鶹´«Ã½<\/span> is embarking on a new direction in tourism recognizing the need for better management. We have an opportunity to create a governance structure that can achieve it.”<\/p>\n

Read more on UHERO<\/abbr>\u2019s website<\/a>. UHERO<\/abbr> is housed in UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s College of Social Sciences<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This UHERO<\/abbr> brief is authored by Paul Brewbaker, Frank Haas and James Mak.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[301,197,1467,1363,1026,74,9,343],"class_list":["post-166884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-college-of-social-sciences","tag-economics","tag-manoa-excellence-in-research","tag-manoa-research","tag-social-science","tag-tourism","tag-uh-manoa","tag-uhero","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t