(AP) — The Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority has started planning for the possibility that the organization could be defunded by the state. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported officials at the agency responsible for leading statewide tourism recovery say the authority is in a dire financial situation. Democratic Gov. David Ige issued an executive order after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic ceasing transient accommodations tax disbursements to the authority. The authority is operating through funding from prior years and budget cuts, while rapidly burning through its reserves. Without the restoration of funding by Ige, the authority says it would be down to $10 million by June 30.
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