The slumping economy and gloomy business climate has caused Hilton Hotels Corp. Hawai'i to lose about $15 million worth of business meetings this year and next, according to Jon Conching, the hotel's vice president of sales and marketing.

Conching made the estimate at a Hawai'i Business Travel Association conference yesterday at the Royal Hawaiian hotel, where about 50 people met to discuss the drain on business travel to Hawai'i. Dozens of companies, including ones that have received government bailout money, have canceled trips to the Islands after coming under pressure to cut travel expenses during tough economic times.

Shane Downey, government relations manager of the National Business Travel Association, flew in from Washington to encourage those in the travel industry to speak out to Hawai'i's congressional delegation and others on the importance of tourism and business travel for the community.

He said the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program was designed to stimulate business but has drawn criticism of financial companies using government money to keep them in business and then sending executives on trips.

Last month, Gov. Linda Lingle, the county mayors and 90 tourism and community officials sent a letter to President Obama urging him to support the market for conventions and meetings travel.

More than 130 businesses and other groups that had planned to travel to Hawai'i for meetings have canceled trips so far this year because of the recent backlash against such company-sponsored events, state tourism officials estimated. Those cancellations cost the state an estimated $58.8 million in direct revenue, amounting to a total economic impact of $97.6 million, according to Lingle's office.

Without people speaking up for the value of conventions and meetings, Downey said, legitimate business meetings end up labeled as "symbols of excess."

Conching said the effect may linger beyond the immediate two or three years of economic downturn, into 2012 or longer. He cited the example of the National Medical Association, which normally brings 2,000 to 3,000 delegates every several years. The organization told Hilton its planners want to postpone the 2012 meeting to 2014 or 2015.

He said cancellations and postponements have crossed various industries. He noted that the Association of General Contractors canceled a 2011 date and pushed it back to 2012 after watching home builders struggle.

Hawai'i has long struggled with what industry officials call "the boondoggle effect" where meetings scheduled here are perceived as playtime instead of serious business gatherings.

Conching expressed concern about another wavering reservation, this time for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, due in December 2009 with about 1,000 delegates. He hopes the group will still come.