232 thoughts on “Decline In Hawaii Tourism Starts According To State”
Timmie P.
Yes. .unfortunately I agree with the survey. We were there in May. (Our 12th trip) While it was really nice in general there were several factors that make it much less likely we will return unless things change a bit.
1. Horribly expensive…car rental, food ($9 loaf of bread)big increase in all costs making it comparable to Europe trip).
2. Where’d the “Hawaii” and “Aloha”go. This trip was like visiting any crowded generally depressed location with beautiful scenery.
3. Limited hours in restaurants making it difficult and aggravating to eat out. Wait staff was understandably stressed and seemed overworked and rushed.
So there ya go. I wish it wasn’t so. I will watch for changes back to the Hawaii I know and love! Mahalo.
I love Maui and we come every other year before the pandemic. This year I have been twice and I am going back next month. The parking in hotels is Outrageous! It cost that much to park in San Francisco! It already expensive to stay in Maui. I also read that the big Hotels are not giving back to the island and it’s economy. I want the Hawaiian people to benefit from the tourism on their island!
Where do you think the thousands of residents who work and support the hotel industry get their paychecks? It is ludicrous to say that tourism does not support the people of Hawaii. On the contrary, they will starve without it.
The Government needs to get their act together. This is a direct result of bad/knee jerk policy decisions. One week they say the islands are being inundated with “record number” of mainlanders and the next they say there isn’t enough. Which is it? They make it sound like the sky is falling. Balance is key to everything in life. Maybe with less visitors, costs will become more local friendly again and those that left during the pandemic (which were a lot just to find work!) will return to the islands. Mahalo BOH for always keeping it real!
It really saddens me the way costs have increased so much. The rental car situation is a bit more easily understood given the auto manufacturing situation. Many of our local car dealers still can’t get new inventory after all this time.
The lodging costs are not the same easily understood situation. To me, it is just greed and owners trying to make up for losses from the first years of the pandemic. The hotel we stay at on Waikiki every year cost us around $450 per night last year. This year, when I went to book it, the cost for the same dates as last year and the same room type was $1,416 per night! We won’t be staying there this year for the first time in 12 years.
I sincerely hope next year costs return to a more reasonable amount.
Bill M, the Hotels and Resorts/Time Shares will make their losses back quickly but they don’t need to Gouge Tourists to do so. A reasonable cost recovery schedule is typically utilized. Then let’s not forget that all of them wrote off huge losses for 2 years with carry over. They have a real double win. Don’t stick up for them until you realize just how much they really didn’t suffer.
I agree with survey results. We own deed TS since 1986 and have been returning to HI every few years. We will most likely do so less in the future because of the high prices, including air fare. 3 years ago we were able to fly rt from Chattanooga, TN for less than $700, our trip in Dec will cost over $1000 and we will have to fly out of Nashville , pay AP parking, and 2 hotel nights because of the extremely early departure and 1am return. Just getting too expensive.
Hey Tom, consider getting a Chase United Explorer credit card. You get good miles for your dollar spent. We haven’t paid for airfare in decades! It’s like a $22 fee. Check it out. We funnel our groceries, some insurance, etc. through the card and pay it in full monthly. That way we pay no interest either. Just a thought…
Was bound to happen you ring the bell to many times and the monkeys don’t want the pellets after a while. Now they want a $50 fee. I guess they are getting what they want. I guess if they want less people they achieved that. As a 20 year resident and 20 year visitor it’s not worth the money they ask. People can be delusional and say it’s “paradise” but their lives are really bad and there bar is low. I remember Hawaii when it was. Hawaii is like when I went a recent Van Halen concert. Having seen them many times in the late 70s early 80s I wanted to believe in 2018 that it was all the same but it wasn’t. Actually left after 4 songs.
An interesting article laying out the map of worse or better things to come? When consistent rebookings wane the loss 📉 is noteworthy in returning guaranteed dollars. This, however, will simply allow for significant targeting of Advertising towards the Asian Market where New Tourists tend to spend significantly more money. Hawaii’s Problem is that there’s Expectations that Can’t be met due to Supply Chain issues and not enough Workers. Couple that with the Vocal Minority insulting Tourists, Negative Word of Mouth Accounts will Reduce tourism substantially over the long term. Hawaii’s challenges are to eliminate every issue deterring tourism before this occurs or face even more devastation to its Primary Industry. Good Luck, Hawaii.
We love Hawaii and used to return every year. We’ve enjoyed every Island. However, cost does matter and we’ve discovered there are too many places in the world we haven’t seen yet. We won’t be returning to the Islands for awhile. I do agree with the takeaways.
I love receiving your updates and am glad tourisim is going to slow. We’ve been coming to maui for 35 years and 2021 and 2022 were so crowded. Looking forward to next visit with less crowds. Love the Beauty and hospitality.
Yes. .unfortunately I agree with the survey. We were there in May. (Our 12th trip) While it was really nice in general there were several factors that make it much less likely we will return unless things change a bit.
1. Horribly expensive…car rental, food ($9 loaf of bread)big increase in all costs making it comparable to Europe trip).
2. Where’d the “Hawaii” and “Aloha”go. This trip was like visiting any crowded generally depressed location with beautiful scenery.
3. Limited hours in restaurants making it difficult and aggravating to eat out. Wait staff was understandably stressed and seemed overworked and rushed.
So there ya go. I wish it wasn’t so. I will watch for changes back to the Hawaii I know and love! Mahalo.
Hi Timmie.
Thanks for your personal insights. We appreciate it!
Aloha.
We have the same stress and suffer from bad policies as the mainland.
I love Maui and we come every other year before the pandemic. This year I have been twice and I am going back next month. The parking in hotels is Outrageous! It cost that much to park in San Francisco! It already expensive to stay in Maui. I also read that the big Hotels are not giving back to the island and it’s economy. I want the Hawaiian people to benefit from the tourism on their island!
Where do you think the thousands of residents who work and support the hotel industry get their paychecks? It is ludicrous to say that tourism does not support the people of Hawaii. On the contrary, they will starve without it.
The US government wants you to believe that
Good to know what’s happening in the Hawaiian Islands
The Government needs to get their act together. This is a direct result of bad/knee jerk policy decisions. One week they say the islands are being inundated with “record number” of mainlanders and the next they say there isn’t enough. Which is it? They make it sound like the sky is falling. Balance is key to everything in life. Maybe with less visitors, costs will become more local friendly again and those that left during the pandemic (which were a lot just to find work!) will return to the islands. Mahalo BOH for always keeping it real!
Hi SD.
Thank you for being a regular part of the discussion!
Aloha.
It really saddens me the way costs have increased so much. The rental car situation is a bit more easily understood given the auto manufacturing situation. Many of our local car dealers still can’t get new inventory after all this time.
The lodging costs are not the same easily understood situation. To me, it is just greed and owners trying to make up for losses from the first years of the pandemic. The hotel we stay at on Waikiki every year cost us around $450 per night last year. This year, when I went to book it, the cost for the same dates as last year and the same room type was $1,416 per night! We won’t be staying there this year for the first time in 12 years.
I sincerely hope next year costs return to a more reasonable amount.
What’s wrong with owners making up for all the pandemic losses? They are not running a charity for mainlanders.
Bill M, the Hotels and Resorts/Time Shares will make their losses back quickly but they don’t need to Gouge Tourists to do so. A reasonable cost recovery schedule is typically utilized. Then let’s not forget that all of them wrote off huge losses for 2 years with carry over. They have a real double win. Don’t stick up for them until you realize just how much they really didn’t suffer.
I agree with survey results. We own deed TS since 1986 and have been returning to HI every few years. We will most likely do so less in the future because of the high prices, including air fare. 3 years ago we were able to fly rt from Chattanooga, TN for less than $700, our trip in Dec will cost over $1000 and we will have to fly out of Nashville , pay AP parking, and 2 hotel nights because of the extremely early departure and 1am return. Just getting too expensive.
Hey Tom, consider getting a Chase United Explorer credit card. You get good miles for your dollar spent. We haven’t paid for airfare in decades! It’s like a $22 fee. Check it out. We funnel our groceries, some insurance, etc. through the card and pay it in full monthly. That way we pay no interest either. Just a thought…
So you know – December can be the most expensive time to travel here. Try shoulder season.
Was bound to happen you ring the bell to many times and the monkeys don’t want the pellets after a while. Now they want a $50 fee. I guess they are getting what they want. I guess if they want less people they achieved that. As a 20 year resident and 20 year visitor it’s not worth the money they ask. People can be delusional and say it’s “paradise” but their lives are really bad and there bar is low. I remember Hawaii when it was. Hawaii is like when I went a recent Van Halen concert. Having seen them many times in the late 70s early 80s I wanted to believe in 2018 that it was all the same but it wasn’t. Actually left after 4 songs.
An interesting article laying out the map of worse or better things to come? When consistent rebookings wane the loss 📉 is noteworthy in returning guaranteed dollars. This, however, will simply allow for significant targeting of Advertising towards the Asian Market where New Tourists tend to spend significantly more money. Hawaii’s Problem is that there’s Expectations that Can’t be met due to Supply Chain issues and not enough Workers. Couple that with the Vocal Minority insulting Tourists, Negative Word of Mouth Accounts will Reduce tourism substantially over the long term. Hawaii’s challenges are to eliminate every issue deterring tourism before this occurs or face even more devastation to its Primary Industry. Good Luck, Hawaii.
We love Hawaii and used to return every year. We’ve enjoyed every Island. However, cost does matter and we’ve discovered there are too many places in the world we haven’t seen yet. We won’t be returning to the Islands for awhile. I do agree with the takeaways.
I love receiving your updates and am glad tourisim is going to slow. We’ve been coming to maui for 35 years and 2021 and 2022 were so crowded. Looking forward to next visit with less crowds. Love the Beauty and hospitality.