The search for a new president and CEO for the state's lead tourism agency may be narrowed to one or two finalists by the end of next month, according to a private consultant.

The Hawai'i Tourism Authority board received an update yesterday from Jim Carra, of the Mainland search firm SearchWide. The board indicated it has paid the firm $90,000 to conduct the search.

The agency's former president, Rex Johnson, resigned under pressure last year from his $200,000 a year position. He came under fire after it was revealed that he had forwarded e-mails on his state computer that contained jokes that included sexist, racist and X-rated content.

Carra said it's likely that the full board will interview the finalists toward the end of February. He said there has been "a large response" of applicants from Hawai'i, as well as interest nationally and internationally.

Despite the current tourism slump in Hawai'i and across the nation, Carra said applicants are coming forward.

"Interest is strong," Carra said. "People realize the importance of tourism."

The Hawai'i Tourism Authority board also yesterday approved a proposal to restore nearly $1 million in funds cut from various cultural programs.

The full board approved a committee recommendation to put back $988,000 for programs that included the popular Sunset on the Beach movies, nightly hula performances and half a year of airport greeting statewide.

The HTA needs to cut $17 million out of its $88 million annual budget in response to shrinking revenue from hotel-room taxes in the wake of a tourism slump that began last year.

But board members continue to wrestle with balancing a call for increased marketing of Hawai'i to attract more visitors and spending money to improve their experience when they're here.

Cultural advocate and former lawmaker Peter Apo encouraged the board to keep an eye toward balancing culture with the push for increased numbers of visitors.

Apo praised the HTA's tourism strategic plan as the only public policy "that addresses the love-hate relationship we have with tourism."

The board discussed a move to allocate $607,000 for marketing to the growing Korean visitor market but did not have enough support to pass the proposal.

Board member Douglas Kahikina Chang voted against the move because he said he had not received the details of the proposal before the meeting.

"I didn't have the information," Chang said. "And $600,000 is a significant amount of money."