155 thoughts on “With State Destitute, How Will Hawaii Market Itself?”
Sheryl S
Have Hawaii reach out to those of us who do tourism marketing for a living. Hopefully we can assist as we all want our Aloha state to thrive. I personally plan to visit annually but am on hold now until I have the vaccine. Looking forward to swimming in the ocean again!
Ed O
Hawaii is just another example of Democrat run states, just like the ones that are having cops shot, burning buildings and looting.(California, New York, Portland, Seattle, Wisconsin, Philadelphia, Missouri etc.)
Hawaii is a welfare state, I think maybe the biggest.
A very good example that the Democrat’s don’t give a crap about the people that live here is when the lock downs started one of the first things they tried to do was to tear down Sherwood Forest Beach area because no one was allowed to go and protest it.
If the Democrats’ really cared about the people that live here they instead would have put people to work fixing what are some of the worst roads in America.
They also have some of the worst schools in America.
They also have one of the biggest homeless problems in America.
But instead the Democrats’ would rather keep people dumb and on welfare because they are easier to control at least until they run out of other peoples money to support the welfare system.
I can see them running out of other peoples money if they keep these lock downs going along with the endless welfare.
I love Hawaii but am praying the burning, looting, riots and killing of cops doesn’t come here. All Lives Matter!
Steve K
Aloha Ed! You need to move to a place more in line with the way you think.
Steven E.
There is plenty of angst to go around, you seem to desire to single out one group, when all of us should be finding ways to help ALL of us, resident and visitor alike.
JohnW
Ed…Hawaii doesn’t love you, not just you but all the haters on here. We are going through tough times but there are plenty that are coming here and are accepting of the current situation. The likely scenario is Hawaii is facing an onslaught of tourism that will happen when the vast majority of people are vaccinated and travel is back in vogue. Hopefully people that don’t judge others so harshly and irrationally remain the norm over here. The vast majority of people that visit Hawaii come here because of the beauty and Aloha spirit that still exists here. And yes I realize I’m judging harshly myself, but certain things do deserve to be judged harshly.
Aloha to all and hope you haters get a grip and a life.
Hawaii will always be Hawaii.
Hal M
There are a wide range of reasons why folks go to Hawaii and I think that targeting specific activities would be more successful. My wife and I now travel almost exclusively to the Big Island. While there, we snorkel daily, including photography, so we are looking for fish and Honu. We go on birding trips, both guided and on our own. We go up Mauna Kea for the stars and to the Volcano for the show. We, I guess, Eco-Tour so having great all-in resorts is not “us”. We do eat a number of smaller, more local, restaurants and heavily use the Farmer’s Markets. I know folks who come over just for golf and others who would spend a month big-game fishing. There are probably a lot of these niche markets that need some level of not only advertising but also need to maintain the activity like having good, clean. safe beaches and so on.
Cf
Hawaii must abandon the locals first and nepotism mentality and Finally have that long long time coming realization that hawaii is part of the usa!
If you want to rely on welfare and section 8 in hawaii then you have to make sure the programs work. The car doesnt drive itself. And housing doesn’t just magically appear for the largest homeless population in the usa.
Trying to belittle or lead on the tourists during covid certainly wint fix any of that and just creates more economic issues for hawaii. Going to visit hawaii now is like visiting a 3rd world nation complete with bananna republic governor & government It is crazy hawaii keeps going in the wrong direction. Just screw over most residents in the process and all the tourists and hope for the best with no reopening plan too!
GaryJ
Incentives to those who were born or lived in Hawaii and now live on the mainland
Melissa K.
Stop building Golf courses….stop building high end shopping stores that only the Asian markets money can afford to shoppe at. Leave the natural sites and invest in their rehabilitation such as walks/hikes through Hawaii’s natural state ie…Sacred Falls…Bring back the full International Market that actually brought everyone down to the shopping area. Families had a place they could afford and enjoy the outdoor shows. In the end the natural beauty that brings people to Hawaii is being destroyed! The Shrimp trucks, pineapple etc…No to the noisy health destroying windmills! Your killing your own people with them. I’ve been visiting twice a year since 1991 and can see all the changes many so sad to see things destroyed and gone. Leaves you to wonder who the heck is making these decisions. We the tourists want to see the natural beauty of Hawaii not Saks Fifth Ave that we can go to at home!
Jack D.
Having just moved to Hawaii I can tell you that Hawaii is a 3rd world country at best and run down Indian reservation on the realistic side. I’m not sure that Hawaii cab overcame the Democratic Party and the social justice entitlement of the Hawaiian people to ever be able to compete again with Mexico and many other more attractive Asian destinations. Personally I would skip Hawaii any day to fly to a variety of other pacific destinations, Regardless off the cost. I think Hawaii’s days are over and gone and its highly unlikely its going to ever be viable again. You need a generation or 2 to die out before that’s possible.
Seeing that Pearl Harbor plays a much reduced role in the future of US strategic operations in the pacific RIM and the fact that Hawaiians want nation status. I suggest we give it to them and get them out of our representative form of government and remove the massive welfare dollars that we are burdened with and the toll it lays on our nation. I think its time America cut ties with Hawaii by and large, At best it should be a territory once again,
Tom K
Which island did you move to?
Ed D
Meh,
I love Hawai’i, and it’s always a good time, but for me to come back prices will have to come down – a lot. Like well under other destinations. Otherwise, the state has so bungled its response that I think I’ll go elsewhere. In addition to bringing down prices, I would expect residents to choose more responsible and thoughtful politicians and hold accountable the bureaucrats that have created the ridiculous response in the islands.
At what point is somebody going to remind local authorities that this virus will run its course one way or another? Even a vaccine is not going to stop that. Keep in mind, if a vaccine is created it will be similar to the flu vaccine, not the polio vaccine. That means that it will probably be somewhere between 20-60% effective. So this virus will still do its thing. That’ll suck when the rest of the world is working again, and Hawai’i and New Zealand are still cowering.
Or Hawai’i can lockdown for the next 3-5 years. Yeah, that’ll work.
Bill C
Ditto. Aloha
Michelle E
Agreed. So sad to see the people of Hawaii suffer because of the ineptitude of their leaders.
Larry G
I understand the capacity issues at hand. But, without clear state leadership, this catastrophe will continue for the people of Hawaii. My wife and I rescheduled out trip and with the last extension – we cancelled it (losing some money) and with all of the businesses going out – I’m not sure when we will consider coming back. In the past, we have made a minimum of one trip a year. I understand that everyone is challenged in these times, but there are places that have gotten things under control. I’ve read enough to see that there is no real plan. I’m sorry to say that! Good luck to all Hawaiians!
Ane T
Aloha guys,
Hope all is well over there.
Reading this last post what came up for me is – Maybe from a business or “plan” standpoint one can see Hawaii as a marketing failure but from living here with the massive amount of tourists and rental cars the only failure I see is limiting or organizing tourism. We are unable to park at the beach because of so many scuba tours and tourist cars. Then the county permanately gives away our parking to hotels and talks of closing the beaches where we swim everyday to tourist bubbles. We get smashed into while snorkeling by unskilled tourists on paddle boards or kayaks. (might sound funny but can be very dangerous) Swimming for 30 minutes to get to a beautiful and isolated place only to have smelly boats pull in and drop off 100’s and 100’s of people – we call them the “noodle nation.” Unable to park at our small market because of all the cars. Cant get in at the movie because all sold out, etc. Now I know these are not problems that you might value if you lost your job or can’t pay your rent. I get it. But we moved here to a small town island and pay taxes here for a lifestyle. We worked hard to get here and live frugally to stay here. We love the Aina and the people who support it and each other. I do not know the answer to this balancing act but I do know that we have planning commissions for building and land use. We need the same type of planning commission for tourism not just More More More More tourists, vacation rentals, multi-million dollar developments, etc . Thanks for listening to my rant.
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Ane.
Thank you. Always good to hear from you.
Aloha.
Cheri F.
Aloha Ane, thank you for your post. Are you describing tourists CA? Your post describes what CA experiences every year. Tourists on our beaches, rented boats in our waters, backed up traffic on PCH and our freeways, crowds at our amusement parks and wineries, skiers and hikers on our mountains, snowbirds in our deserts, you get the picture. Like you, we pay taxes to enjoy our lifestyle, the highest income tax rate in the country.
CA has significant sources of revenue in addition to personal income tax. We’re home to four of the five FAANG companies and Silicon Valley (corporate income tax), from Central to Southern CA we have agriculture and animal agriculture, two of the busiest ports in the country, the largest state economy, etc. Do you see where I’m going with this? Despite all of our revenue we accept tourists at any time, making us the most visited state.
According to the Hawaii.gov – Research & Economic Analysis the primary source of income for HI is…drumroll please…the Visitor Sector which spreads over Service, Transportation, and Retail Trade industries. Sugarcane and pineapples exports dried up years ago. As of today, the only thing HI has is Tourism. US and Int’l tourists spend money a lot of money to stay in high-end rentals and resorts, dine in restaurants, rent convertibles, and go on eco tours. These services employ the people of HI to support their families, pay for a child’s college education, etc. Since you enjoy swimming and snorkeling, why don’t you join one of the snorkeling tour companies and share your vast knowledge with some “noodle nation” people. Teach someone something new, make them smile, and make some money doing it. Aloha.
Tom K
Which island do you live on?
Comments are closed.
Aloha!
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Have Hawaii reach out to those of us who do tourism marketing for a living. Hopefully we can assist as we all want our Aloha state to thrive. I personally plan to visit annually but am on hold now until I have the vaccine. Looking forward to swimming in the ocean again!
Hawaii is just another example of Democrat run states, just like the ones that are having cops shot, burning buildings and looting.(California, New York, Portland, Seattle, Wisconsin, Philadelphia, Missouri etc.)
Hawaii is a welfare state, I think maybe the biggest.
A very good example that the Democrat’s don’t give a crap about the people that live here is when the lock downs started one of the first things they tried to do was to tear down Sherwood Forest Beach area because no one was allowed to go and protest it.
If the Democrats’ really cared about the people that live here they instead would have put people to work fixing what are some of the worst roads in America.
They also have some of the worst schools in America.
They also have one of the biggest homeless problems in America.
But instead the Democrats’ would rather keep people dumb and on welfare because they are easier to control at least until they run out of other peoples money to support the welfare system.
I can see them running out of other peoples money if they keep these lock downs going along with the endless welfare.
I love Hawaii but am praying the burning, looting, riots and killing of cops doesn’t come here. All Lives Matter!
Aloha Ed! You need to move to a place more in line with the way you think.
There is plenty of angst to go around, you seem to desire to single out one group, when all of us should be finding ways to help ALL of us, resident and visitor alike.
Ed…Hawaii doesn’t love you, not just you but all the haters on here. We are going through tough times but there are plenty that are coming here and are accepting of the current situation. The likely scenario is Hawaii is facing an onslaught of tourism that will happen when the vast majority of people are vaccinated and travel is back in vogue. Hopefully people that don’t judge others so harshly and irrationally remain the norm over here. The vast majority of people that visit Hawaii come here because of the beauty and Aloha spirit that still exists here. And yes I realize I’m judging harshly myself, but certain things do deserve to be judged harshly.
Aloha to all and hope you haters get a grip and a life.
Hawaii will always be Hawaii.
There are a wide range of reasons why folks go to Hawaii and I think that targeting specific activities would be more successful. My wife and I now travel almost exclusively to the Big Island. While there, we snorkel daily, including photography, so we are looking for fish and Honu. We go on birding trips, both guided and on our own. We go up Mauna Kea for the stars and to the Volcano for the show. We, I guess, Eco-Tour so having great all-in resorts is not “us”. We do eat a number of smaller, more local, restaurants and heavily use the Farmer’s Markets. I know folks who come over just for golf and others who would spend a month big-game fishing. There are probably a lot of these niche markets that need some level of not only advertising but also need to maintain the activity like having good, clean. safe beaches and so on.
Hawaii must abandon the locals first and nepotism mentality and Finally have that long long time coming realization that hawaii is part of the usa!
If you want to rely on welfare and section 8 in hawaii then you have to make sure the programs work. The car doesnt drive itself. And housing doesn’t just magically appear for the largest homeless population in the usa.
Trying to belittle or lead on the tourists during covid certainly wint fix any of that and just creates more economic issues for hawaii. Going to visit hawaii now is like visiting a 3rd world nation complete with bananna republic governor & government It is crazy hawaii keeps going in the wrong direction. Just screw over most residents in the process and all the tourists and hope for the best with no reopening plan too!
Incentives to those who were born or lived in Hawaii and now live on the mainland
Stop building Golf courses….stop building high end shopping stores that only the Asian markets money can afford to shoppe at. Leave the natural sites and invest in their rehabilitation such as walks/hikes through Hawaii’s natural state ie…Sacred Falls…Bring back the full International Market that actually brought everyone down to the shopping area. Families had a place they could afford and enjoy the outdoor shows. In the end the natural beauty that brings people to Hawaii is being destroyed! The Shrimp trucks, pineapple etc…No to the noisy health destroying windmills! Your killing your own people with them. I’ve been visiting twice a year since 1991 and can see all the changes many so sad to see things destroyed and gone. Leaves you to wonder who the heck is making these decisions. We the tourists want to see the natural beauty of Hawaii not Saks Fifth Ave that we can go to at home!
Having just moved to Hawaii I can tell you that Hawaii is a 3rd world country at best and run down Indian reservation on the realistic side. I’m not sure that Hawaii cab overcame the Democratic Party and the social justice entitlement of the Hawaiian people to ever be able to compete again with Mexico and many other more attractive Asian destinations. Personally I would skip Hawaii any day to fly to a variety of other pacific destinations, Regardless off the cost. I think Hawaii’s days are over and gone and its highly unlikely its going to ever be viable again. You need a generation or 2 to die out before that’s possible.
Seeing that Pearl Harbor plays a much reduced role in the future of US strategic operations in the pacific RIM and the fact that Hawaiians want nation status. I suggest we give it to them and get them out of our representative form of government and remove the massive welfare dollars that we are burdened with and the toll it lays on our nation. I think its time America cut ties with Hawaii by and large, At best it should be a territory once again,
Which island did you move to?
Meh,
I love Hawai’i, and it’s always a good time, but for me to come back prices will have to come down – a lot. Like well under other destinations. Otherwise, the state has so bungled its response that I think I’ll go elsewhere. In addition to bringing down prices, I would expect residents to choose more responsible and thoughtful politicians and hold accountable the bureaucrats that have created the ridiculous response in the islands.
At what point is somebody going to remind local authorities that this virus will run its course one way or another? Even a vaccine is not going to stop that. Keep in mind, if a vaccine is created it will be similar to the flu vaccine, not the polio vaccine. That means that it will probably be somewhere between 20-60% effective. So this virus will still do its thing. That’ll suck when the rest of the world is working again, and Hawai’i and New Zealand are still cowering.
Or Hawai’i can lockdown for the next 3-5 years. Yeah, that’ll work.
Ditto. Aloha
Agreed. So sad to see the people of Hawaii suffer because of the ineptitude of their leaders.
I understand the capacity issues at hand. But, without clear state leadership, this catastrophe will continue for the people of Hawaii. My wife and I rescheduled out trip and with the last extension – we cancelled it (losing some money) and with all of the businesses going out – I’m not sure when we will consider coming back. In the past, we have made a minimum of one trip a year. I understand that everyone is challenged in these times, but there are places that have gotten things under control. I’ve read enough to see that there is no real plan. I’m sorry to say that! Good luck to all Hawaiians!
Aloha guys,
Hope all is well over there.
Reading this last post what came up for me is – Maybe from a business or “plan” standpoint one can see Hawaii as a marketing failure but from living here with the massive amount of tourists and rental cars the only failure I see is limiting or organizing tourism. We are unable to park at the beach because of so many scuba tours and tourist cars. Then the county permanately gives away our parking to hotels and talks of closing the beaches where we swim everyday to tourist bubbles. We get smashed into while snorkeling by unskilled tourists on paddle boards or kayaks. (might sound funny but can be very dangerous) Swimming for 30 minutes to get to a beautiful and isolated place only to have smelly boats pull in and drop off 100’s and 100’s of people – we call them the “noodle nation.” Unable to park at our small market because of all the cars. Cant get in at the movie because all sold out, etc. Now I know these are not problems that you might value if you lost your job or can’t pay your rent. I get it. But we moved here to a small town island and pay taxes here for a lifestyle. We worked hard to get here and live frugally to stay here. We love the Aina and the people who support it and each other. I do not know the answer to this balancing act but I do know that we have planning commissions for building and land use. We need the same type of planning commission for tourism not just More More More More tourists, vacation rentals, multi-million dollar developments, etc . Thanks for listening to my rant.
Hi Ane.
Thank you. Always good to hear from you.
Aloha.
Aloha Ane, thank you for your post. Are you describing tourists CA? Your post describes what CA experiences every year. Tourists on our beaches, rented boats in our waters, backed up traffic on PCH and our freeways, crowds at our amusement parks and wineries, skiers and hikers on our mountains, snowbirds in our deserts, you get the picture. Like you, we pay taxes to enjoy our lifestyle, the highest income tax rate in the country.
CA has significant sources of revenue in addition to personal income tax. We’re home to four of the five FAANG companies and Silicon Valley (corporate income tax), from Central to Southern CA we have agriculture and animal agriculture, two of the busiest ports in the country, the largest state economy, etc. Do you see where I’m going with this? Despite all of our revenue we accept tourists at any time, making us the most visited state.
According to the Hawaii.gov – Research & Economic Analysis the primary source of income for HI is…drumroll please…the Visitor Sector which spreads over Service, Transportation, and Retail Trade industries. Sugarcane and pineapples exports dried up years ago. As of today, the only thing HI has is Tourism. US and Int’l tourists spend money a lot of money to stay in high-end rentals and resorts, dine in restaurants, rent convertibles, and go on eco tours. These services employ the people of HI to support their families, pay for a child’s college education, etc. Since you enjoy swimming and snorkeling, why don’t you join one of the snorkeling tour companies and share your vast knowledge with some “noodle nation” people. Teach someone something new, make them smile, and make some money doing it. Aloha.
Which island do you live on?