Hawaii residents see tourism's benefits

Pacific Business News (Honolulu) - by Chad Blair

Most Hawaii residents “appreciate and understand” the benefits that tourism brings to Hawaii, according to a survey released Friday.

But many residents do not believe that the visitor industry helps solve community problems, sustain natural resources, or preserve Hawaiian culture.

The survey, conducted by OmniTrak Group, was presented at a Hawaii Tourism Authority board meeting at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu. Its purpose is to help the HTA and industry stakeholders work on areas that need improvement.

“We know we still have areas that we need to work on as an industry,” said HTA President and CEO Mike McCartney. “At HTA, we are focused on driving demand to travel to Hawaii, but we also understand our responsibility to protect Hawaii’s natural resources and perpetuate our host culture.”

For 2010, the HTA has budgeted more than $1.6 million for Hawaiian cultural and natural resource programs.

Nearly 80 percent of the 1,650 residents polled last August and September agree that tourism brings more benefits than problems to the state. That was 7 percentage points higher than in 2007, the last time the survey of resident sentiment was conducted.

Fewer residents, or 49 percent, said they believe their island was being “run for tourists at the expense of local residents.” That’s down from the 55 percent who felt that way in 2007.

Among other findings:

• Fifty-nine percent of survey respondents who identified themselves as Hawaiian expressed dissatisfaction with tourism’s support of Hawaiian language and culture, while only 36 percent of Filipinos felt that way.

• Just over half of the respondents said they were aware of the visitor industry’s support for multicultural events, while 58 percent said they were aware of sponsorships of sporting events.

• Oahu residents are least likely to see tourism as “primarily responsible for negative impacts” on issues like traffic, but more residents on Kauai and Maui “feel strongly” that tourism worsens traffic and over-development.

• Compared to other industries, tourism ranks second to defense and ahead of health care in perceptions that it contributes to the state economy.

While calling the survey results “favorable” overall, OmniTrak recommended that the HTA and other groups in the visitor industry work to improve public awareness of tourism’s contributions to the state and Native Hawaiians.