This week we are turning the spotlight on the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority (HTA).
The agency is officially back under the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism and no longer a quasi-separate agency. HTA became a separate entity in 1998, under Governor Ben Cayetano.
The idea was born from a task force that he assembled to lift Hawaiʻi's economy out of the doldrums. We talked to the governor about those origins.
We also spoke with Rick Egged, who served as head of the office of state planning under Gov. Cayetano back in the 90’s. He is now the head of the Waikīkī Improvement Association so he brings that long view to the table. Egged is optimistic about building on the last 27 years of the work accomplished under the HTA.
This story aired on The Conversation on July 1, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
