HONOLULU (KHON2) — Mufi Hannemann resigned Thursday as chair of the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) Board, following ongoing questions raised by a state audit about discounted services at the Hawaii Convention Center involving his non-profits.
Councilmembers hope for progress as Blangiardi set to start town hall meetings
The audit, which led to referrals to the state attorney general and the ethics commission, did not allege fraud.
However, concerns were raised regarding $14,000 worth of discounted or comped services, including space and catering, for events organized by the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association and Pacific Century Fellows—both of which are led by Hannemann.
At Thursday’s HTA board meeting, Hannemann announced his resignation, explaining that continued questioning from fellow board members about the discounted services left him with no choice.
Get Hawaii’s latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You
“The best thing for me to do is step down as chair, and then I’m going to have to think if I want to stay on the board,” he said. “The reputations of those credible, important organizations have been put into question.”
Hannemann further clarified that his organizations were unaware of any outstanding bills that had not been paid.
In response to the audit, changes have already been made to the process for using the convention center’s facilities.
Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news
Following Hannemann’s resignation, Todd Apo was voted in as the new chair of the HTA board.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2.
