Higher airfares and a slowing Mainland economy contributed to a 14.1 percent drop in visitor arrivals in July from a year earlier.

The visitor slowdown prompted Gov. Linda Lingle to call a meeting with 25 hotel executives and propose shifting $10 million in government spending to tourism marketing.

"This investment is not just about filling hotel rooms, but is critical to all other industries, including retail, restaurants, tour operators, car rental companies, visitor attractions and the countless other businesses that rely on tourism," Lingle said.

Not only did fewer tourists come to the Islands in July, but those who did visit spent less.

Expenditures by air travelers in July were down 16.3 percent, or $193.7 million, from the same month last year, to $998.2 million. Average daily spending per visitor was down 4.4 percent to $173.

The whole community feels a decline in visitor arrivals as people lose jobs, go out to eat less and spend less, said Keith Vieira, senior vice president and director of operations for Starwood Hotels & Resorts in Hawai'i and French Polynesia.

Vieira said higher airfares are a structural change and need to be considered over the long term, but he added that yesterday's numbers show how important it is to change the momentum now.

Tourism leaders hope more marketing will help slow or reverse the decline in arrivals.

They want to shift money that the Hawai'i Tourism Authority would have spent on non-marketing initiatives, such as sponsoring cultural events, into advertising.

"When things are tight, you get back to what your core function is — the marketing that brings the revenue into the state," said Outrigger Enterprises Group president and CEO David Carey in the meeting with Lingle, according to state tourism liaison Marsha Wienert.

The HTA budget, which comes from the hotel-room tax, is projected to be $88 million.

Out of that, $54 million is spent on marketing. The other roughly $34 million goes to a variety of initiatives, including culture, communications, research, project development, workforce development, and safety and security.

The actual budget likely will decline because of the expected drop in hotel-room tax revenue.

Wienert said a summer marketing boost has already helped slow the decline in arrivals.

"We knew for months going in that July was not looking good and June was not either," she said.

Air arrivals in June were down 14.2 percent from a year earlier. June marked the largest drop since January 2002, when air arrivals fell 16.2 percent

Wienert said she believes August will show a decrease but not by as much as the two previous months. "We had the ability to affect July and also August," she said.

She added, "Fall is traditionally our slower season."

Lingle met for 90 minutes with the 25 hoteliers. She said key, aggressive steps can be taken to increase visitors and visitor spending both in the coming months and in the long term.

Lingle said the state can't just wait for an eventual turnaround in the tourism market.

While most of the hotel properties indicated they were reaching out to the kama'aina market with special rates and package deals, the general agreement at the meeting was on the need to bring new money into the state.

Lingle and Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona are planning separate trips to Asia in November to promote Hawai'i's visitor industry.