456 thoughts on “Hawaii Public Relations Nightmare as Media Frenzy Fuels Unrest”
Dan Z
We all need to admit, we shoot holes in our own foot frequently !
Ed K.
My wife and I have made several trips to Hawaii over the past 8 years. We have taken our family with us twice. We typically eat at off hour times at restaurants and spend a lot of time on the tourist beaches. We are from Colorado and understand the benefits and damages that tourists can do, so we try to not join in the crowds finding ‘secret’ places the local residents enjoy. Tourists have to remember they are guests. Just like if we were staying in someones home, we would be thankful we were given a guest bedroom and enjoy our time there. We would not rummage through the cabinets and closets looking for their treasures nor would we feel slighted for not being given the master bedroom. While we have never experienced any negative comments from residents, we would hope that residents remember that, in many ways, they are ‘hosts’ to their ‘guests’. It is as simple as courtesy and respect. I completely understand the 14 day quar antine and the need for it that doesn’t exist on the mainland. I have also not heard anywhere that it will be a permanent situation going forward. With people in some parts of the mainland desperately trying to crowd into bars and stores as quickly as possible, I understand the hesitency of Hawaii to end their quar antine at the moment. We miss Hawaii and have hopes of returning soon and as often as finances allow. In the meantime, I have no problem waiting and allowing residents there to prepare to open up on their schedule.
Donald W
Unfortunately, the liberal politics that Hawaii’s government officials can’t hide is a buzz killer for many conservative visitors like me. The Big Island has been my choice for honeymoon and about 7-8 other visits in 20 years, which is a bit more than infrequent but does not reflect my love for Hawaii and essentially everyone there with whom I have interacted. That said, the oppression of such a polarized political environment, which is most ardently stoked by so many politicians, is so toxic to the spirit of aloha as to be repulsive. Following such a self-destructive path of polarization is beyond my comprehension, especially in the grace, marvel, and beauty of Hawaii’s physical environment. I can only hope the people of Hawaii (along with the rest of our country) wake up and start cleaning up the political pollution that is fouling our lives and now, Hawaii’s economic health.
Jim P
As a frequent reader, I want to thank you for the information and insight you provide on Hawaiian travel. My wife and I are in our 70’s and have historically travelled about 13 weeks annually. Our travels are international as well as domestic in scope. We have vacationed in Hawaii more than 20 times, usually in Poipu and Princeville on Kauai, but occasionally on Maui, Big Island, and Oahu. Our Hawaiian trips are typically 3-4 weeks in duration. During all our time in paradise, we have only encountered friendly, caring, and welcoming residents. That is one of the principle reasons we love Hawaii so much.
Now to your question about what will it take for us to return to Hawaii. Since we are in the “vulnerable” segment of the population, we will not feel comfortable flying anywhere until a vac cine becomes available. But you can rest assured, that as soon as we are vac cinated, we will be returning to our home away from home, Kauai.
Beat of Hawaii
Hi Jim.
Thanks for being a frequent reader and for your comment.
Aloha.
Andrea
We went to Hawaii in early March before everything got crazy with this and stayed until mid April. We stayed when it got crazy instead of cutting our time short bc we have a son with preexisting conditions and felt uncomfortable putting him on an airplane and through airports.
We spend quite a bit of time in Hawaii, it’s our goal to eventually be there half the year and be able to be involved in community and contribute to the well being of the islands. But this last time spent there was very sad. It is as you say, SOME locals were very unfriendly. There were handmade signs put up in yards saying “tourists, go home”. We had that written on our car window. Very few smiles. We saw another tourists car windows get smashed in. We had already been there 3 weeks before the quarantine was set so we weren’t required to quar antine but it felt like people were judging us, like we weren’t respecting the rules, which wasn’t the case.
All around, it was very sad. The energy of the island was completely different. We will come back though because we have grace for the situation, we understand that people react in different ways to stress. But i no longer encourage anyone to visit and if the energy of the island feels the same when we return, that will probably be our last time.
John & Sally
In response to this question, What will it take for you to return to Hawaii?
We have gone to Maui, Kauai, and Big Island every year since 2011 for 6-8 weeks. We love the people, the islands and the Aloha. We are in the higher risk category of being over 60, so we do follow what is happening with the pan demic. Though we are already booked for Jan-Mar/21 we worry that if there’s no vac cine available by then it may drive our decision to stay home. We’ve decided to take a wait and see approach to buying airfare to Hawaii to probably Nov-Dec. Hoping for the best. Aloha.
Beat of Hawaii
Hi John & Sally.
Thanks.
Aloha.
Russ H.
I have come to love Hawaii as if it’s my home away from home. I have long sought opportunity to share my love of the islands with my children. My family has worked long hours and scraped money for over a year all the while telling my kids how amazing and beautiful Hawaii is (was) so we could go and vacation there. Now I hear stories of tourists who are being secretly watched by the watchdog hotel staff, the cops, and military is all insane to me. How would I ever be able to come and stay at a hotel when I know that the hotel agents are undercover gestapo like agents and ready to call in the troops to either arrest or fine you? I would never be able trust them again and who could? I can’t believe they have gone to this level of insanity. Then on top of all of this, I hear that the locals are totally fine with tourists not being there and are more than happy to have us away from them. So I have decided to cancel my vacation plans, not that the Hawaii government would let us ever come there again, and I plan on showing my family other parts of the world instead, and especially in a place where I don’t feel like there are watchdogs looking to arrest or fine me. It really is sad to me that this is where Hawaii has come too. The tragic loss of Aloha is something that the Hawaiian people and local government will have to work diligently to restore the trust of future tourists, myself included.
Kalina T.
I hope you understand that these are trying times for us all. The tourists who travel during a pan demic are not your average visitor. These are people who are selfish risk-takers who go against the consensus. At first our government put the quar antine in effect with no follow-up, trusting the visitors to follow the rules. It was only after they realized that many visitors were thumbing their nose at the rules that they began looking for enforcement methods. So really, it’s not as though these visitors had no warning and are being “spied on” for no reason. They should not have come if their intention was to break rules and have no respect for others. BTW, I scolded my own friend for traveling to the Mainland in mid-March for the same reason, so it’s not Hawaii visitors that I’m against during this.
Dave K
We were planning a week cruise around the islands with excursions as a well as more than a week on land. With this attitude we have stopped planning this and will go elsewhere. You will get what you wanted… No visitors. See how that works with your economy.
Mark O.
We had a trip planned, we actually would have come home yesterday after a month on your lovely islands. My bride and I look forward to returning! As we are older, air travel is not an option, so it may be next year before we could return. Stay strong and healthy Hawaii! Your people and home is beloved by many! Mahalo for your past and future hospitality!
AnneL
“While we have always wanted a more diversified economy for Hawaii, that simply has not materialized and could not happen fast enough to save Hawaii” . UNBELIEVABLE!!! Tourists are not loathsome and infectious disease that Hawaii needs to be SAVED from.
I will take my loathsome tourist vacation money and spend it in Cancun, Cabo, Bahamas and Bermuda. There is nothing Hawaii has that I can’t find at other vacation destinations. EXCEPT for the ugliness attitudes of the Hawaiian and its government many of you had experienced.
ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS! DON”T go to Hawaii.
Comments are closed.
Aloha!
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We all need to admit, we shoot holes in our own foot frequently !
My wife and I have made several trips to Hawaii over the past 8 years. We have taken our family with us twice. We typically eat at off hour times at restaurants and spend a lot of time on the tourist beaches. We are from Colorado and understand the benefits and damages that tourists can do, so we try to not join in the crowds finding ‘secret’ places the local residents enjoy. Tourists have to remember they are guests. Just like if we were staying in someones home, we would be thankful we were given a guest bedroom and enjoy our time there. We would not rummage through the cabinets and closets looking for their treasures nor would we feel slighted for not being given the master bedroom. While we have never experienced any negative comments from residents, we would hope that residents remember that, in many ways, they are ‘hosts’ to their ‘guests’. It is as simple as courtesy and respect. I completely understand the 14 day quar antine and the need for it that doesn’t exist on the mainland. I have also not heard anywhere that it will be a permanent situation going forward. With people in some parts of the mainland desperately trying to crowd into bars and stores as quickly as possible, I understand the hesitency of Hawaii to end their quar antine at the moment. We miss Hawaii and have hopes of returning soon and as often as finances allow. In the meantime, I have no problem waiting and allowing residents there to prepare to open up on their schedule.
Unfortunately, the liberal politics that Hawaii’s government officials can’t hide is a buzz killer for many conservative visitors like me. The Big Island has been my choice for honeymoon and about 7-8 other visits in 20 years, which is a bit more than infrequent but does not reflect my love for Hawaii and essentially everyone there with whom I have interacted. That said, the oppression of such a polarized political environment, which is most ardently stoked by so many politicians, is so toxic to the spirit of aloha as to be repulsive. Following such a self-destructive path of polarization is beyond my comprehension, especially in the grace, marvel, and beauty of Hawaii’s physical environment. I can only hope the people of Hawaii (along with the rest of our country) wake up and start cleaning up the political pollution that is fouling our lives and now, Hawaii’s economic health.
As a frequent reader, I want to thank you for the information and insight you provide on Hawaiian travel. My wife and I are in our 70’s and have historically travelled about 13 weeks annually. Our travels are international as well as domestic in scope. We have vacationed in Hawaii more than 20 times, usually in Poipu and Princeville on Kauai, but occasionally on Maui, Big Island, and Oahu. Our Hawaiian trips are typically 3-4 weeks in duration. During all our time in paradise, we have only encountered friendly, caring, and welcoming residents. That is one of the principle reasons we love Hawaii so much.
Now to your question about what will it take for us to return to Hawaii. Since we are in the “vulnerable” segment of the population, we will not feel comfortable flying anywhere until a vac cine becomes available. But you can rest assured, that as soon as we are vac cinated, we will be returning to our home away from home, Kauai.
Hi Jim.
Thanks for being a frequent reader and for your comment.
Aloha.
We went to Hawaii in early March before everything got crazy with this and stayed until mid April. We stayed when it got crazy instead of cutting our time short bc we have a son with preexisting conditions and felt uncomfortable putting him on an airplane and through airports.
We spend quite a bit of time in Hawaii, it’s our goal to eventually be there half the year and be able to be involved in community and contribute to the well being of the islands. But this last time spent there was very sad. It is as you say, SOME locals were very unfriendly. There were handmade signs put up in yards saying “tourists, go home”. We had that written on our car window. Very few smiles. We saw another tourists car windows get smashed in. We had already been there 3 weeks before the quarantine was set so we weren’t required to quar antine but it felt like people were judging us, like we weren’t respecting the rules, which wasn’t the case.
All around, it was very sad. The energy of the island was completely different. We will come back though because we have grace for the situation, we understand that people react in different ways to stress. But i no longer encourage anyone to visit and if the energy of the island feels the same when we return, that will probably be our last time.
In response to this question, What will it take for you to return to Hawaii?
We have gone to Maui, Kauai, and Big Island every year since 2011 for 6-8 weeks. We love the people, the islands and the Aloha. We are in the higher risk category of being over 60, so we do follow what is happening with the pan demic. Though we are already booked for Jan-Mar/21 we worry that if there’s no vac cine available by then it may drive our decision to stay home. We’ve decided to take a wait and see approach to buying airfare to Hawaii to probably Nov-Dec. Hoping for the best. Aloha.
Hi John & Sally.
Thanks.
Aloha.
I have come to love Hawaii as if it’s my home away from home. I have long sought opportunity to share my love of the islands with my children. My family has worked long hours and scraped money for over a year all the while telling my kids how amazing and beautiful Hawaii is (was) so we could go and vacation there. Now I hear stories of tourists who are being secretly watched by the watchdog hotel staff, the cops, and military is all insane to me. How would I ever be able to come and stay at a hotel when I know that the hotel agents are undercover gestapo like agents and ready to call in the troops to either arrest or fine you? I would never be able trust them again and who could? I can’t believe they have gone to this level of insanity. Then on top of all of this, I hear that the locals are totally fine with tourists not being there and are more than happy to have us away from them. So I have decided to cancel my vacation plans, not that the Hawaii government would let us ever come there again, and I plan on showing my family other parts of the world instead, and especially in a place where I don’t feel like there are watchdogs looking to arrest or fine me. It really is sad to me that this is where Hawaii has come too. The tragic loss of Aloha is something that the Hawaiian people and local government will have to work diligently to restore the trust of future tourists, myself included.
I hope you understand that these are trying times for us all. The tourists who travel during a pan demic are not your average visitor. These are people who are selfish risk-takers who go against the consensus. At first our government put the quar antine in effect with no follow-up, trusting the visitors to follow the rules. It was only after they realized that many visitors were thumbing their nose at the rules that they began looking for enforcement methods. So really, it’s not as though these visitors had no warning and are being “spied on” for no reason. They should not have come if their intention was to break rules and have no respect for others. BTW, I scolded my own friend for traveling to the Mainland in mid-March for the same reason, so it’s not Hawaii visitors that I’m against during this.
We were planning a week cruise around the islands with excursions as a well as more than a week on land. With this attitude we have stopped planning this and will go elsewhere. You will get what you wanted… No visitors. See how that works with your economy.
We had a trip planned, we actually would have come home yesterday after a month on your lovely islands. My bride and I look forward to returning! As we are older, air travel is not an option, so it may be next year before we could return. Stay strong and healthy Hawaii! Your people and home is beloved by many! Mahalo for your past and future hospitality!
“While we have always wanted a more diversified economy for Hawaii, that simply has not materialized and could not happen fast enough to save Hawaii” . UNBELIEVABLE!!! Tourists are not loathsome and infectious disease that Hawaii needs to be SAVED from.
I will take my loathsome tourist vacation money and spend it in Cancun, Cabo, Bahamas and Bermuda. There is nothing Hawaii has that I can’t find at other vacation destinations. EXCEPT for the ugliness attitudes of the Hawaiian and its government many of you had experienced.
ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS! DON”T go to Hawaii.