Ready for this? Launching Hawaii regenerative tourism.
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134 thoughts on “Are You The Tourist Hawaii Wants? New Study.”
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Ready for this? Launching Hawaii regenerative tourism.
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As a long time environmentalist, camper, & backpacker in my beloved state of CA, I always left the land better than I found it. While backpacking we’d always pack out just about as much as we took in. Then on Kauai I’d often be seen cleaning up the beaches of trash & plastic. Not all this trash was from tourists either but sometimes off boats of locals. If visitors would spend a little time picking up trash on the beaches when taking a walk, that would help tremendously & wouldn’t take much time away from their precious vacation time. Have relatives who took dogs from the animal shelter for walks also. Hopping off my soapbox once again! Hi guys–love your e-m’s to help me keep in touch with my much loved Kauai.
Hi Mary.
Thanks for the input on this important subject and the nice words. We appreciate your being a part of this for more than 5 years.
Aloha.
Mahalo for your efforts in keeping us frequent visitors to the islands updated on how things are changing.
I for one, a 50+ year resident of Colorado, would love it if people visiting here would stay out of my campgrounds and stay off my roads and instead spent their money only in luxury accommodations and picked up trash on the highway and scrubbed graffiti off the buildings in the alley. Maybe even help put out some fires while they are at it.
In case you can’t tell, that is a joke. As is the plan that I would be spending thousands of my dollars to come to Hawaii and work.
If Hawaii wants an economy that is not tourist based, they need to develop one that does not involve tourists.
Your BOH statistician editor is likely familiar with market research (as am I) and I’m sure would agree that any study can be crafted so that the results support the position already taken by the researcher.
Sounds like typical academia progressive stuff. And no that’s not what I want to spend my vacation time (and $$) doing.
After reading your vlog for 2 years, my wife and I have decided to never return to Hawaii. We spent our honeymoon on Maui 40 years ago and had a trip planned right before the Rona. We loved it.
Per your vlogs, overcrowding, overpriced, underserved, and unfriendly personalities have convinced us to travel elsewhere.
After reading your vlog for 2 years, my wife and I have decided to never return to Hawaii. We spent our honeymoon on Maui 40 years ago and had a trip planned right before the Rona. We loved it.
Overcrowding, overpriced, undeserved, and unfriendly personalities have convinced us to travel elsewhere.
This regenerative tourism topic is spot on. I am a hoale from California. I had suggested that I could camp on a beach on Ni’ihua and spend 30 days cleaning the beaches and not bothering the residents. I would be willing to help out with beach cleaning or taro planting. It’s not work: It’s participating in helping the islands in restoring its beauty in the smallest details. I had suggested beach cleaning years ago but got no traction. We have always left Hawai’i better than how we found it, treated the residents with complete respect and honored the culture. Aloha is beautiful, as well as please and thank you. They are golden keys. Sorry for rambling on but tourists need to get their entitled attitudes reframed.
People go on vacation to relax and enjoy their vacations. If I want to work during my vacation, I will tackle my wife’s “honey do” list! It IS work, and our attitudes do not need reframing. We are paying top dollar for a vacation in Hawaii. We will Not be doing any “free labor” work while there. This will only lead to lawsuits against the Hawaiian Government, if they choose to invoke this ridiculous scheme.
Currently, no island in Hawaii makes it to even the top 10 islands to visit worldwide, according to Travel and Leisure. Maui is the top-ranked of the islands to make it onto the list, at #20. So, if you aren’t deemed the “right kind” of visitor, here are even better places to visit:
travelandleisure.com/worlds-best/best-islands-in-the-world-2022
As a person who has been visiting Kauai for the past 15 years, I have seen most of the attractions, repeated hikes,visited many of the beaches, etc. I like to stay active so volunteering would not be an unpleasant experience for me as long as it was for a few hours only. I don’t care about the recognition, but I do care about the environment.
I’m all for this. When we visited the Big Island we had the opportunity to visit Papakolea (Green Sand Beach). On the way in, we passed a rocky beach covered in trash. We were saddened to see this. Given the opportunity and wherewithal to do so, my wife and I would have gladly volunteered to help clean up. We believe in showing respect to the land and the community. If our efforts help to foster that respect, count us in!
Perhaps they could have a (voluntary only) program that promoted working with Hawaiians to keep/improve the islands ecological cleanliness. That means for every tourist volunteer there is a resident who also volunteers – I might consider that for 1/2 day of my vacation…
We travelled to the Big Island recently and were pretty surprised that there is no recycling program except for drink bottles (where you’ve paid to “buy” the bottle) – at least that is what we were told by the property landscaper when we asked where the recycle bin was.
Getting a recycling program in place on an Island would seem to be a priority (?)
As I said before, I go on vacation to relax and get away from work. Not to go on vacation to work!
The more I read, the crazier it gets.
At age 76, perhaps that I could work for 2 days at Costco which would allow some Kauai resident to go work in the Taro field in my place.
Ige must be feathering his bed for post Governorship, hoping for a University gig, Hawaii Travel Bureau Obsolete, UH Regenerative Work Visa 2022! The Big Government Face of One Party Rule is all over this, pay Citizens not to work, Import First Responders and Hospital Staff, now the Hoale Tourist toil in the fields, while, if Retail comes back, the foreign tourists will be allowed to consume. Mahalo!
An interesting article that certainly doesn’t reflect the entire story,one sided statistical analysis on an issue without considering all of the issues isn’t worth considering. One Island is not an entire State. Gender/Age/Other Factors? Statistics too often are “used” for justifying one’s own agenda. Has Anyone considered the Liability Issues? Tourists are Overpaying and this is covered by the Price Structure. Can’t help it if Your Governments misuse that portion and demand more. Residents need to do their own part, don’t demand us to do it on Vacation! We Don’t of You, but we Can. Fair Is Fair.
This an interesting idea and one I would consider participating in. However as someone in my seventies, I can’t see myself being able to participate in the described activities.
Perhaps give some consideration to activities that are less physical in nature as well.
I don’t believe regenerative tourism can be mandated, and most tourists will not be interested in it.
My husband is from Hawaii, we are older people returning to Hawaii each winter.
We are not going to be participating in regenerative tourism.
It seems to me that this will further create an us versus them. I think there is opportunity to contribute to sustainability but I’m very pessimistic when government gets involved.
Some of us (tourists) already pick up garbage every time we walk a beach. Not saying this is a bad idea, but all of the negative tourist talk is wearing. Have been visiting Kauai for 35 years.
So how much of this “volunteer” work do these locals actually do? When they fly to Las Vegas are they willing to drive out to Red Rock and pick up trash or help maintain the trails?
Trust me, I’ve seen the taxes that it costs to spend a week in Hawaii.
Regenerative tourism sounds like another option for visitors and residents an option not a mandate. When we were raising our kids,this would have been an educational option when visiting interisland—I can see the appeal for some people
Do I have to bring my own shovel?
Still can’t believe they are even discussing this.
Since the plans are so vague it is hard to know if we’d fit in. We’re mid-60s, I was born on Oahu and we’ve probably visited about 40 times since the 1970s. We’re in pretty good shape for our age but our abilities to assist might be hampered by our age.
So, it remains to be seen for us. We always enjoy our time in Hawaii and certainly would rather be a plus than a detriment. As we used to say, “If you aren’t part of the solution you’re part of the problem”.
The Idea of regenerative tourism is great…but as you pointed out would it Really change Hawaiian attitude toward tourism? As you pointed out, if I am walking down the street how does a local know that I volunteered in a taro patch that morning? I pick up trash on the beach now and go on organized hikes to clean trails of brush and debris…but nobody knows about it. I also think it will create a feeling of more entitlement from tourist, because now they are “working” so by gosh they Deserve it. You bring up many good points with this study thank you for your thoughts.
Hi Chris.
Thanks for your input on this. And we very much appreciate your 100 comments to date.
Aloha.
So basically they want free labor? I have volunteered many times in places I have travelled but I wanted to do that. Mandates? Ummm, no. I do spend a lot of money for my vacations and want to do whatever I want, even if that is just lying on the beach. I agree that not many locals would come to the mainland to farm on their vacation.
Love Kauai and try to be a great visitor but what I do on my vacation is my business. Mahalo
I guess when I drop 10k for the week I’m taking? Is this a joke?
Nice idea, impossible to implement across-the-board. One of the issues is that arriving visitors do not know of volunteer opportunities. After many visits to Kauai, the only one I am aware of is monk seal monitoring, and that is usually open only to those who stay at least a month or more. If Hawaii is serious about this, they should provide arriving visitors a list of short and long-term opportunities and contact information. But I would expect a very low turn out. Visitors come to Hawaii to relax, and slashing through taro fields is not my idea of a good time.
Tourists need to be understanding of the challenges of maintaining and promoting the well being of the Aina and the Local Residents on an island. Hawaii needs to be sustainable well being for all sentient beings who live there. Live in harmony with nature and assist it to replenish it’s abundance. Respect wherever we go; the environment and residents! Mahalo and Aloha.
We are seniors. It is physically challenging for us to do anything. No way I’d go to have to work. I want to relax and spend time with my grandkids. I’m definitely willing to go somewhere else. The costs are already a big negative.
We’ve visited Kauai many times and are planning our next trip for April 2023. I would welcome the volunteer opportunity as part of our visit, but not the purpose of the trip. We typically spend at least two weeks in Kauai and love the island, the culture, and the people.
So they actually expect people to pay $500-$1000 per day for lodging plus increased taxes and outrageous car rental prices so they can come work in a taro field or go trash picking at the beach on their vacation? Can’t you just see all the snowbirds who spend the winter months on the islands (the ones who can still afford to make the trip) working in the fields and picking up other people’s trash? I don’t know where these brilliant people come from who think up these crazy ideas but perhaps Hawaii needs people with some common sense who deal in reality to work on real solutions to their problems. How about locals stop leaving burned up cars on the side of the roads and pick up their own trash? Set the example they want others to follow.
Whoever came up with that idea is smoking too much pakalolo.
I am all for making sure that us tourists pick up after ourselves but this is so far out there that I am wondering what persons came up with this nonsense. When people go on vacation (ourselves included) they expect to relax and enjoy their vacations, not work during them. This is just one more example of Hawaii wanting to drive the tourism numbers down with nonsense like this. And frankly, it matters not to me how many down votes I receive for this comment. I wear them proudly!
Before the comments start flying, BOH editors, can you please share any knowledge you may have on who (what entity) does the survey that is administered at the Honolulu airport to departing passengers? That survey asked a good number of questions with some overlap to what you mention in this article. Additionally, I would think a survey of departing airline passengers would have a lot more responses and yield deeper (more meaningful) insights. Thank you!
Hi Warren.
We aren’t 100% sure, but bridge that is done under the HTA umbrella.
Aloha.
My thoughts…
1. “Regenerative travel positively affects tourist attractiveness in the eyes of residents.” – Of course the tourist attractiveness is affected – who wouldn’t like some do work for you for free.
2. “The volume of tourists visiting Kauai should be increased with this new focus on travel.” Really? You want more tourists? But only if they do free work I’ll bet.
And your last section under “the study seems to raise more questions…” SPOT ON!
I’ve been a “visitor” to Kauai for 13 years and now “reside” there about five months a year. I pay taxes to Kauai and donate to local charities. The last thing I want when I come to Kauai, or anywhere else, is mandated service. What a terrible concept! Your image of work gangs in the taro fields is not far-fetched. I imagine sign-up lists, airy lectures about taro cultivation in ancient times, parking hassles, shuttle buses, and failing apps. Remember Covid airport chaos? Such projects provide low-paying government jobs for locals and that’s about it. Maybe the point is to make the tourist experience so bad the tourists won’t come back! Better to just assess some kind of tourism tax on short-term visitors.
“I’ve been a “visitor” to Kauai for 13 years and now “reside” there about five months a year. I pay taxes to Kauai and donate to local charities.”
#MeToo
“Better to just assess some kind of tourism tax on short-term visitors.”
They do. 20% on all lodging and at least that on car rentals. The county also adds 50% to the property tax on homes with legal vacation rental licenses.
It’s way, way more than an additional 50%. People with short-term rentals pay 5 times as much in property taxes as owner-occupants, so that’s 500% more.
Requiring visitors to do work is part of the overall plan to stop visitors from coming at all.
Last I heard, slavery was abolished! To make an attempt to force anyone to do manual labor, is against the law. If they are trying to quell the numbers of visitors to the Islands, congratulations! This will most likely be the straw that breaks the proverbial “Camel’s back”! It is Not a privilege to visit the Islands, it is a Right! They will be legally challenged in the Courts and Hawaii will lose that battle! I have to say, this is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard! There will be major repercussions to Hawaii’s tourism industry!
The % increase depends on what you compare to. In our case, the home is not our primary residence, so there is already a huge increase in tax over someone claiming the residential exception, especially if that person is over 62(? – something around there).
But, in any event, the county makes a ton of money off of legal vacation rentals, while at the same time doing everything they can to put you out of business in order to virtue signal.
David, you hit it right on the head! Good post!
Hey Rob B., I am a tourist when I am in Hawaii. Do you honestly believe that tourists are not already over taxed there? The Taxes in Hawaii are sky high!
Pie in the sky.
Work in a Taro field—right! is the state willing to pony up and pay for airfare, cars, and lodging? What a joke. No wonder Hawaii is in trouble.
Hawaii’s not in trouble. We may be in trouble soon, but we are not currently.
We pay $350 a month for our lawn guy on Kauai north shore. I would be pleased to instead have tourists do the work. The climate obsessed ones can use battery powered equipment instead of the gasoline powered ones our lawn guy uses. Takes twice as long, BUT they could watch the ocean level drop as they cut back the naupaka. How regenerative is that!? We will sit out on the lanai and judge their attractiveness while they work. No need to muck around in the taro ponds.
No state can pick and choose what kind of visitor they will accept from other states. Can you imagine Missouri dictating what kind of person is allowed to enter their state, and what that person should do while they are there? Let’s see…no women, old people, poor people, or people of a certain color (especially purple people). And everyone must pick up litter on the highway while they are here, and scrub the public bathrooms. The whole concept is ridiculous.
If you come to the mainland, please go work on a farm or volunteer. If I wanted to leave the island the way I came to it, I’d have to throw a lot of trash into an overflowing, rusted out trash can at all beach parks.