Established in 1998, the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) is the lead state agency for tourism. Among its responsibilities, the HTA’s is charged with: (1) Setting tourism policy and direction with the goal of contributing to the ongoing, sustainable growth of Hawaii’s economy (2) Developing and implementing the State’s tourism marketing plan and efforts (3) Managing programs and activities to sustain a healthy visitor industry (4) Developing and implementing the Hawaii Tourism Strategic Plan (5) Coordinating tourism-related research, planning, promotional and outreach activities with the public and private sectors.