Popular travel writer Peter Greenberg, was visiting Honolulu last week and taking your Hawaii travel questions from the renovated Royal Hawaiian Hotel.
This got me thinking about Hawaii and the people who write about us. Because Hawaii is such a popular travel destination, it seems to attract more physically remote travel writers than do other locales.
In this day and age of ubiquitous, abundant information availability, what if any difference is there between these long distance travel writers, and local ones?
Anyone can subscribe to feeds from sources that provide information about Hawaii and traveling here. I subscribe to 283 travel sites in total which is more than enough information for anyone, anywhere to write about Hawaii. It all comes down to the following:
…the Authentic Hawaii.
Hawaii is more than a place and its information. It is a vibrant, inter-connected, multi-cultural and unique experience that I feel you must live here to fully understand. Hawaii is perfectly ripe for exploration by its visitors. Yet on the other hand, living here and visiting here are two very different things. A travel writer who comes for one or two week vacations can share their experience of Hawaii as a visitor. I live, eat and breathe Hawaii every day, and share it from the depth of that day-in, day-out perspective. My ancestors have lived here since the mid-1800′s.
Transparency
What I don’t like to see are sites that seem Hawaii-based but are actually not. There are quite a number of these. When evaluating information on a website, I think the public should know where the website is based and the writer’s experience level with Hawaii.
Beat of Tasmania?
That brings me to Tasmania. Why Tasmania? We have visited Tasmania multiple times, and truly love Australia’s island-state. I subscribe to Tasmania news and other related websites, and could quite easily take that information and put it together with what I know from all of my travels there. Voila Beat of Tasmania. Yet in many ways it would feel disingenuous for me to author a Tasmania travel website.
Conclusion
I believe there’s room for both local and mainland-based Hawaii websites, written by residents as well as by visitors. I welcome your point of view.
Bill (3 years ago)
I believe both do have value. If someone is only coming in for two weeks or so they might have different goals and thus want a quick overview of things to do. (mainLand)
Rob, would love to see some of the travel sites that you use.
Pua (3 years ago)
Wow, Rob, you subscribed to 283 travel sites? That’s probably a record, at least in humble opinion. Just perusing these newsletters for relevant information would totally overwhelm me.
I could imagine that Jeff and you subscribed to quite a number of Hawaii related travel and vacation sites, so you get the latest updates and specials on Hawaii travel for your blog.
I agree with Bob. It’s really important to see the islands from both perspectives, as a visitor and as a resident. I loved to read our guest book comments!
BTW, those websites which were just made up entirely for business purpose, can never make it in the long run, if they don’t deliver the useful Hawaii information and aloha spirit.
Aloha, Pua
Best Hawaii Vacation Blog
Dave (3 years ago)
“What if any difference is there between these long distance travel writers, and local ones?”
Interesting question…
Everyone is an “Expert”. Everyone is also a critic and an artist. (At least in their own eyes) I guess things like beauty and expertise are in the eye of the beholder. Same with “Local”.
For example: You can think of yourself as a “Local Expert” even though you only live on one island. However… Someone on a neighbor island might think of himself as the “Local Expert” and you as the “Long distance travel writer”. I guess it all depends on your point of view.
Since you are a talented travel writer… I’m positive that you could create a better Tasmania travel blog than most of the locals. If the visitors found your articles about Tasmania helpful and entertaining; I doubt that your physical location would be of much concern.
So… My personal opinion is that it has a lot more to do with talent than physical location.
I also believe that allot depends on the audience you are targeting and how you connect with them.
So… This article has me a bit confused… I’m not sure who the target audience is that you are trying to attract or inform with an article like this. I enjoy a good rant about local issues like this but I don’t know if a person planning a vacation would find a topic like this as thought provoking or entertaining as I do.
Rob (3 years ago)
Hi Dave,
Thanks for your well thought out comment.
Just FYI, while Beat of Hawaii is followed by visitors, our research indicates that at least half of our regular readers are travel industry professionals. That was a surprise to us too.
Aloha, Rob
Peter (3 years ago)
I visited Abaco a small island in the Bahamas last summer and they have two sites that allow a forum of questions as well as specific information and some advertising. I visited these often and found it invaluable. Just prior to leaving California for Disneyworld Florida on the first part of our vacation, I found out from the forum that my airline from Fort Lauderdale to the island had gone bankrupt. I confirmed when I checked the airline website. I also got a refund from my credit card several weeks later. It also gave me time to make an alternative reservation on another airline that day. Without the forum I may have just turned up in Fort lauderdale and then found out.
This did happen when we were waiting for our flight and a couple came to check in and found out to their dismay, they left with sad faces.
This would be great for the Hawaiian islands too.
We will be visiting Maui again this August.
kris bordessa (3 years ago)
Rob, Interesting. As a freelance writer, I’ve written about Hawai‘i both during the time that I lived on the Big Island, and from the mainland. Currently, I’m on the mainland and co-authoring two Hawai‘i “On The Cheap” sites (with a Hawai‘i based writer). Full disclosure about the authors on the front page!
I do think that having lived in the islands gives me a bit more insight. For instance, I wrote a piece for a national family magazine, and the editor made changes to the copy (that thankfully, I was able to change!) that would have made some statements incorrect. Writing about astronaut Ellison Onizuka, my editor changed the copy to say “Hawaiian astronaut Ellison Onizuka” – but he wasn’t Hawaiian. He was, however, born and raised in Hawai‘i. It’s an important distinction, but one that’s lost on many people.
Another thing to note is that I’ve pitched lots of Hawai‘i stories to lots of magazines. Very frequently I’m told that the editors like to do the Hawai‘i stories themselves – because it’s a place they’d like to visit. These are certainly some excellent writers, but they are writing from the perspective of a visitor. Valuable to many, yes. But it would be nice to see more stories by Hawai‘i based writers in mainstream magazines.
nsa107 (3 years ago)
Hi Rob – I just want to first say that this is one of the best blogs I have ever followed – as it gives really good insight into what to consider when visiting hawaii and is very objective. You mentioned you were staying at the Royal Hawaiian in Ohau and I was wondering what you thought of it! I am planning a trip there and am deciding between the Royal Hawaiian and the Moana Surfrider. I was surprised to read in one of your other posts that the W Waikiki went under foreclosure.