The incoming chairman of the board of the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau yesterday called for committed public-private investment in tourism to help the state through this time of economic struggle.

"We should focus on updating, improving and developing our tourism product," said Mark Dunkerley, who also serves as president and chief executive officer of Hawaiian Airlines.

And he said that community commitment will be sought at a time when other priorities are competing in areas that range from education and healthcare to other businesses.

"Helping businesses improve the quality of the tourism infrastructure of our state is an investment that will be paid back to this community many times over," he said.

He said the $1.7 billion state airport modernization plan is sorely needed for the long-term success of Hawai'i's visitor industry.

"The facilities we operate from are insufficient for our basic needs today, let alone for those that will come as we grow," Dunkerley said. "With nearly $5 billion now committed in new aircraft deliveries that start arriving in less than 18 months, we are in desperate need of having the airport in Honolulu modernized."

He praised the state Hawai'i Tourism Authority and its marketing contractors at the bureau for responsive action during this slump in Hawai'i's No. 1 private industry.

With the numbers of visitor arrivals dropping by double-digit figures compared to last year, and hotel occupancy on the decline, Dunkerley said the marketing folks quickly got out with the message that Hawai'i was a desirable destination.

"Tourism is a fiercely competitive business, and we should not fall into the self-satisfied slumber of believing that what we did yesterday will be enough to protect us tomorrow," he said.

Dunkerley spoke to more than 800 people gathered at the Sheraton Waikiki hotel for the annual Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau luncheon.

After the lunch, Hawai'i's senior Sen. Daniel K. Inouye said he feels that labor and management will work together to help weather the tough economy.

"On the federal side, we'll do our best," Inouye said.

And HVCB president and CEO John Monahan said the bureau will continue to focus on luring more groups that come here as a reward or incentive trip. He said Japan and Canada both are growing as a source of visitors.

"Obviously, the leisure market has been negatively affected by the economic downturn, but the meetings market is even more difficult," Monahan said. "All over the globe, businesses are cutting back or eliminating conventions, meetings, and incentive trips as they cut costs in their struggle to maintain profitability."

Monahan said there will be continued emphasis on the growing markets in Asia with Korea and China visitor regulations easing up.

And Hawai'i continues to hold potential as a desirable destination for Americans who want to travel but like the idea of not having to get a passport.

Dunkerley said Hawai'i's long tenure as a role model for tourism globally will help the state be resilient. He admitted that the near-term outlook is more daunting than it looked only weeks ago.

"It hardly seemed likely that before Christmas rolled around, we would be pitched headlong into one of the most severe recessions of the last century," he said.

And Dunkerley said private investment in the tourism industry already has helped.

"Hotels of all sizes, as well as many companies throughout the state, have renovated, expanded, added new products and otherwise invested in Hawai'i," he said.

Better places to stay, bigger variety, new activities "all contribute to keeping the visitors who are looking for a vacation out of the maw of the destinations against which we compete," he said. And that includes Central and South America, Asia and even other Mainland resorts.