Global news outlets raise big concerns for Hawaii visitors.
456 thoughts on “Hawaii Public Relations Nightmare as Media Frenzy Fuels Unrest”
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Home » Blog » Culture and Events » Hawaii Public Relations Nightmare as Media Frenzy Fuels Unrest
I think Hawaii is currently at a tipping point. Where you go from here will depend on how the state and the islanders respond in the next 6-12 months. If we mainlanders hear more reports of ankle bracelets for tourists or people being hauled off to jail or put on planes back to the mainland for stepping outside our hotel room door, or if we continue to be attacked (on this board and on other boards) for conveying how we as visitors feel, I think that the decades of goodwill that have been built up of a Hawaiian “heaven on earth” brand will quickly be undone.
Unfortunately (or fortunately?), the state can’t control if someone buys a ticket to come to Hawaii or not so they feel they have to revert to other tactics (like the governor’s ankle bracelet proposal and the “lock them in their hotel rooms and don’t let them out or call the cops on them” approach). I don’t know if the islander’s realize it but this is causing massive damage to the Hawaiian brand right now with us mainlanders.
I believe the thing that the islanders need to realize is that the vi rus is a massive disruption for a lot of industries right now. It has disrupted the airline industry. It has disrupted how people work (work at home), so much so that many companies are saying they are going to adopt more work at home options for their workers. They aren’t going back to the old ways. If the islanders aren’t careful, this will happen to Hawaii too. There are other vacation options for us mainlanders and as the article states, more and more of us are reevaluating if Hawaii will be on our future vacation destination list based on the news reports we see at least once a week about how us visitors are being treated in your state.
On the other hand, if Hawaii were to take more nuanced approach to all of this, they should be able to get through this with the tourists returning (as airlines and other travel-related companies offer pricing deals at some point). The thing that Hawaii needs to keep top of mind here is that they MUST protect the “Hawaiian brand”. And reports about your governor’s tactics and how visitors are being treated damage that brand more than you can fathom.
As your friends and visitors for 6 months each year, we are going to take next year off due to treatment from locals and the fact that we just are feeling plain unwelcome here now. We have been targeted with gestures and foul language as have friends of ours who are residents here and have been really hassled at check points and elsewhere. I am fearful of going out alone as I think this local attitude is empowered by the lack of tourists on the island and I fear it will escalate. I need to emphasize that this is not all locals who are creating this atmosphere. I have many local friends who are appalled at what is happening to residents and long term visitors like us and they are watching out for us. Many thanks to them. This is a heart breaking decision on our part. It has cost me many sleepless nights and panic attacks to get to the point of leaving this island and animals I love for an undetermined amount of time. Will wait to see how things play out here before considering a return. Keep up the good work, my friends.
Hi Julie.
You will be missed!
Aloha.
Julie – Which Island are you on? And what town? If you’re talking about Kauai, I’m really surprised. In fact, but for the pan demic, we’d be in Kauai right looking at property (we plan to retire in Kauai next year). Aloha
“What will it take for me to return to Hawaii?”
Assurances that the airlines will actually enforce distancing, spacing passengers, and absolutely requiring masks.
The no middle seat plan wasn’t being used on some carriers and it’s still masks are requested and suggested but actually optional almost everywhere. Not an effective policy. But it may not be economically feasible to fly partially filled aircraft.
The Islands are beautiful and the people even more so. If the airlines stop worrying about who might be offended by wearing a mask, and put more fresh air in the cabins, I would come back in a heartbeat.
There are many beautiful places to visit besides Hawaii! We will come once more and if we feel that as a tourist we are not welcomed then that will be the last time we ever come again!
Normally we come and stay for a month every year.
Thank you for Beat of Hawaii. I have lived and worked on four continents and traveled widely. I tell everyone I know that there is no place on earth more beautiful than Hawaii (especially what I call “wilderness Hawaii.” My greatest concern is that someday in the near future we will not be able to get on a plane bound for Hawaii (or any other place in the USA) without having the government mandated vac cine…even though its efficacy and safety may have not yet been proven. Hopefully this will not happen.
Because I am Caucasian there are places I do not go in Hawaii because of hostility. The same could be said for where I live on the mainland in Chicago. (There is no place on earth where everyone is kind and respectful, at least that I have found.) IMHO if we mainland visitors (frequent or not) to Hawaii acted like visitors should, most issues would disappear.
Hi Dan.
Thank you.
Aloha.
Some thoughts…..we are still trying to figure out how to open safely so the 14 day quar antine was simply the only way they could keep the islands safe until it’s safe enough to open. The mainland newspapers and blogs are misrepresenting it as slap at tourists. That’s wrong, it’s the reason we have had so few cases. If we hadn’t done that we would have had a lot more cases and tourism would be in much greater jeopardy then it is now. So thanks to the decisive action we took we are in fact sitting in one of the nicest and safest places on the planet.
Now how we open back up is critical. Of course everyone knows how critical tourism is. But it’s not how quickly tourism returns, it’s how safely
it returns. If we do this right, Hawaii could be looking at a renaissance of tourism. A spectacular chain of islands that offers a safe and amazing travel experience for a world that needs it desperately after all we have been through
It’s all going to hinge on the correct application of Aloha……..respect for what we have to do to keep us all safe and respect or those of you that understand this and are coming here.
I usually don’t comment on topics that could be “controversial”, but this one hits my heart. My husband and I have vacationed in Hawaii (mainly Kauai) at least once a year since 2007. Hawaii, and the locals stole our hearts the first time we visited. We refer to it as our second home. The reason Hawaii experienced so few deaths in comparison to other locations is because of their swift action to close down. (Might I add that even ONE death is too many, how can you put a price on a persons life?) It’s not that Hawaii doesn’t want tourists, they are looking out for the best interests of all of us. I’ve talked to friends that live in Florida that want “tourists” to go back to their own state instead of bringing the virus to them. Every person, in every state, should understand that. Tourists possibly taking the vi rus to Hawaii, or any other state for that matter, affects the lives of those that call that place home. That’s not fair and completely unreasonable for us to expect them to make that exception. Quite honestly, I feel that way about people that live in our own state that aren’t taking this seriously. We love Hawaii, the locals and the Aloha spirit. We will be back to Hawaii as soon as it is safe. Aloha and Mahalo for all you do.
Hi Maria.
Thanks.
Aloha.
We typically go to Hawaii about three times a year. Many of our friends there are lifeguards. We see what they’ve been posting and their struggles in keeping people safe and having to worry about tourists and COV ID on top of it. It’s easier to cut things off and stay safe when your home is an island and that’s what the people have been doing. They’re not like the people in Huntington Beach protesting the closure. They want to stay safe and they know full well the costs to their economy. How entitled would it be of me to insist on coming back until they’re ready and comfortable with tourists? We hope to be back soon, but we won’t go if our presence threatens our friends in any way.
Frequent Big Island visitor from SoCal….truth is there’s no easy solution. Every outcome has an intrinsic cost. From the outside looking in, it sure seems like Ige’s lack of appreciation for the economic side of the picture and preference to lean on “science and data” is a big piece of the problem. Great leaders evaluate all facts, concerns and outcomes equally and make the best (timely) decision he/she can. It sure seems like the “data and science” position will be a convenient scapegoat if the economy tanks (possibly long term) and the local way of life suffers generationally. It could happen….and governors like Ige will just defend their actions and say “well, the science and data were wrong.” People need to think critically about opening. As others have stressed, the rest of the world will find substitute vacation destinations.
Please open safely and responsibly, but give people the choice to arrive if they wish. Be prepared and let the market regulate. Traveler quar antines and active blood tests prior to boarding will continue to tank Hawaii.
Wishing you the best,
Matt
There’s no place like Hawaii. We are planning on attending our son’s wedding in October in Maui ( after being postponed from May). We are all looking forward to spending time doing all that Maui has to offer as well as attending the wedding. And I plan on going back next year as well as “there’s no place like Hawaii.”