1,090 thoughts on “Hawaii Visitors and Residents Whipsaw in 1,000 Comments”
Ju sun
Hello this is a perfect example of why I vacation in Hawaii every year , Beautiful landscape,but more importantly the other folks vacationing around me,( mainland USA , Japanese and Australian) in my experience are respectful of all people locals included ?
I love Kauai. I come every year. I am a naturalist and I protect the beautiful nature in all of Hawaii. I believe in God and attend the Hawaiian churches on Sunday. yes I am a tourist but more than that, I am a peaceful respect friend of Hawaiian.
hope to see you in October 2020. Mahalo and Aloha!
I have been coming to Hawaii, specifically Maui, for the past 13 years. I have never been shown anything other than the spirit of Aloha at any time. I also respect the land, culture and sacred nature of the island at all times. I have also spent a considerable amount of money during my visits to support local business owners. I feel as long as tourist act responsibly they will be welcome with open arms.
We have been coming to Kauai for 14 years of which the last 7 years staying for 2 months January & February. We volunteer and hike all over the island. We enjoy the people we work with and we share the enthusiasm we have with the tourists from all over the world. We respect the hikes that start in residential neighborhoods. We understand the culture and respect the people’s heritage. We have never had a bad experience in 14 years we have been every where on the island and the the other islands also. We have felt safe no matter where we are and time of day. We understand that tourist and locals can and do cop attitudes This Is when we feel that culture and the heritage of the island people prevail to reach out with an open hand it’s hard to do at times but it will work every time. We hope to back this winter the people and the culture it runs through our veins now. Mahalo Rick A. Iowa
It isn’t hard to figure out. All you have to do is look 2 weeks back.
It is called lock everyone up. [Edited].
Add to that college idiots having parties KNOWING (Dr. Confirmed) that they have the virus and then they are betting on WHO will catch it. It has been confirmed!
2 weeks later a drastic increase in cases.
As Denver Washington has said you cannot legislate Love.
With the recent major uptick in CV 19 positive tests, HI seems to have made a good decision.
So far deaths are not up much, with most new cases under 40. There is more to this virus uptick
than bars and graduations. Perhaps we’ll find out someday, but our national leadership seems to
be preoccupied with re-election.
Seems like the people that are offended by Hawaii’s stance towards protecting itself and claim “they’ll go elsewhere” are getting
a bit of a wake up call. Europe has banned Americans and you can’t blame them. The mainland simply doesn’t have the virus under control as well as much of the rest of the world right now.
With that said, Hawaii is in position to become a uniquely safe corner of the U S .
Hawaii is the only state protected by 2500 miles of water, everyone has to fly in. That’s a huge opportunity to check everyone who enters.
If the preflight testing program is properly conducted and mask protocols are respected and finally testing and contact tracing is used properly Hawaii could be an amazing success story coming out of this. Also, the reality is the mainland is getting a wake up call about letting down their guard to early. I have faith in the majority of Americans and despite the Ken and Karens that are making the news, most Americans will heed what’s going on and the mainland will start to improve. All of this bods very well for Hawaii recovering in a very safe way and perhaps quicker then many realize…….I’m cautiously optimistic.
Aloha and good luck to everyone.
Im August, Hawaii has the highest Covid spread rate – every infected person contaminating 1.2 others. Now it’s the second lowest, at 0.8.
The draconian quarantine rules seem to have worked. They were pretty misguided though. For example, illegal to walk in the park alone without a mask, and now illegal to fo outside with your family/bubble members.
I have been visiting for 45 years and have owned a vacation property on Maui in a resort zone for 6 years. Over more than 40 visits I had only one significant bad experience with anyone face to face, and I feel that was just because a young man was showing off for his girlfriend by cursing at a stranger for no reason. I believe I have experienced so much aloha it because I treat others as I wish to be treated, with friendliness and respect. Online, it’s a totally different story. Any non local who spends any significant time on any of these forums is naturally repulsed by the hostile racist attitudes that are prevalent. It’s wrong to treat others that way, especially when the “bad” tourists are in the minority. Moreover, it is stupid for locals to bite the hand that feeds them by acting the way some of them do toward visitors and it is seriously naiive to pretend that Hawaii’s fragile economy isn’t completely dependent on bringing these visitors back, or that this situation can be changed any time soon, if at all. If you’ve had your eyes open, you’ve seen numerous posts from past visitors who won’t be back or are having second thoughts about their future travel plans, considering other destinations with residents that are more welcoming. The bad attitudes are literally taking food out of the mouths of local children, some of whom will ultimately not be able to stay in Hawaii because of the economic damage this hateful and misguided behavior is causing. My guests have left over a million dollars in Hawaii and I’ve paid six figures in taxes to the state, and spent a six figure number in Hawaii myself. I’ve acted like a gentleman to virtually everyone I’ve encountered and I can’t speak for all my guests but I feel that each of them should be judged as individuals and not for the overhyped misbehavior of some bad apples. There is no good reason for me or my guests to be disrespected online or in person unless and until one of us acts that way ourselves. I swear that I won’t. Hawaii is at a crucial crossroads now and the way its residents choose to conduct themselves going forward will have a profound impact on their future financial health and their ability to enjoy living in Hawaii and providing for their families. Please practice aloha. Mahalo for considering a kindler, gentler approach.
My wife and I have been visiting Oahu every year for the past 10 years, also making a stop on the Big Island. Between the culture, the clean ocean air, and the laid back atmosphere, we have fallen in love with Hawaii. Although we’ve never had a bad experience with locals, we have seen instances which would cause frustration to those who live here. We will continue visiting to share the Aloha Spirit and soak in the soothing sounds, smells, and smiles from all who we’ve interacted with!!!
I have been saddened by some of the comments from locals because I love visiting your beautiful islands. I realize some tourists are disrespectful. I watched a man walk too close to a resting monk seal in October and ignore the people there watching over him. It made all of us mad. I ask visitors to be aware of the beautiful area we are in and take care of it. I ask locals to not judge all visitors by the actions of a few. I live in Colorado and some of the hunters here every year are horrible. Rationally- I know it’s a small percentage of the total hunters but emotionally – it’s hard to not lump them all together.
Mahalo. Most locals are very happy to welcome tourists just as most tourists are lovely to host. There are a few that are very vocal who have been rude just like the small percentage of tourists that create problems wherever they go. That small minority does not represent us. E Komo Mai…welcome and thankyou for visiting.
I have been to Maui 3 times in the last 2yrs. Really haven’t had a anyone be rude really just the opposite. With that being said have made many friends an most have moved there from the mainland.
In this world the person who owns the land is the name on the deed namely the last person who paid for it.In the real world this is how it’s always been, no one actually stole anything.
You seem to be ignoring the armed uprising and coup which took over the Islands illegally. Might want to read a bit of history. The deed isn’t always the last person who paid for the land. It can also be the last person who stole it through illegal occupation and eviction of the rightful owners. And of course it’s illogical and unethical to apply contemporary American/European land-ownership laws to previous situations. For one thing, land wasn’t bought and sold, and of course in a pre-literate society there were no written deeds. Communal lands in the Americas and elsewhere, as well as individual properties held through traditional common-law ownership systems, were taken through violence and threats of violence during the same colonial expansion that ended up with US possession of Hawai’i, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, etc.
Geez, that’s unnecessarily negative.
Remember, Hawaiian residents voted to join the US in 1950 or so to become a state of the US, and have received many financial, national security, and quality of life benefits since them. In the 1800 hundreds, Indigenous peoples in the US
did not believe the land belonged to anyone, but should be shared. There were many atrocities committed, some by both sides,
when Europeans with their traditions of land ownership, moved into the Americas. Times change, especially as the population of the world has exploded – 3.2B 1969 to 7.2B today, and 9.2B by 2050. In addition, US soldiers defended Hawaii against the Japanese during WWII, with many lives lost. In today’s world, an independent nation of Hawaii populated only by Hawaiians is not realistic. For example, what would the status be of “non-native” Hawaiians who were brought to Hawaii in the 1800s from Asia and Japan to work the sugar cane plantations. So I believe Hawaiian residents are much better off now in one of the most generous social program states than the alternatives. There are always tradeoffs – in this case for the better with globalization which cannot be reversed.
I have been a visitor for 40 years, a part time resident and homeowner for 30 years. I don’t like the traffic jams much either, but most are “locals” going to good jobs.
Thanks for the education, but I think we all must know this. This generation most definitely did not steal anything! Dude! Just like my ancestors never owned slave’s but still since I am white then I am thebad person! Quit it
Wow, you must be a fan of unamerican John Wayne…Actual quote
“I don’t feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them, if that’s what you’re asking,” Wayne said. “Our so-called stealing of this country from them was just a matter of survival. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.”
So, I ask what your point is? That only Hawaiians, by some definition of what that means, should live in Hawaii, and everybody else should leave and tourists stay away? BTW, I am not a John Wayne fan or that comment you cited. Should people who live on the mainland US leave and return to Europe?
So, I have found Hawaii to be a wonderful home with wonderful people.
In light of the resurgence of CV 19 cases in some states, maybe the fairly restrictive policies will work out. I think the new policy of allowing visitors to return after a negative CV19 test is a reasonable step in the right direction.
Let’s let the Aloha spirit of the vast majority of Hawaiian residents prevail; tourists wear masks and be respectful, and hope for the best in our relationships, this epidemic, and getting through this together. Ok, Kevin?
Mahalo
I was born in Honolulu but now reside on the Mainland. I do travel back home to visit family every year however during this pan demic I did not return and do not plan to return until it is safe nationwide. I agree that tourist should not to travel to Hawaii for vacation during this time in order to lessen the spread of C0VID. If everyone heeds and listens to what is being asked of them instead of doing as they wish the vi rus could have been contained quicker than it is now taking.
All one needs to do is to look at the recent (6/16/20) incident in New Zealand where 2 visitors from the UK did not quar antine, were infected and then came in contact with many others to see what can happen without strict quar antining and restrictions on tourists. Hawaii and NZ are following correct procedures for stopping the spread. If the tourists really cared about Hawaii and its people they would understand.
The ignorance and selfishness of so many people is what the real problem is. Too many have no sense of civic virtue. They only care about themselves. Which is maybe why the world is in the mess it is.
Very well put. And as it relates to C0VID, too many people seem to think that ‘freedom’ means freedom to put others at risk. It’s a childish and irresponsible attitude.
We’re seeing that now in SoCal. Arizona now has the dubious honor of the highest positive infection rate in the nation. Use of hospitals, intensive care units and ventilators has set daily records over the past week. Why? Because too many people in AZ won’t wear masks or practice distancing. Now they’re coming out here to the beaches and parks and acting the same way. You can tell who they are from (1) the license plates and (2) the fact that the locals wear masks and observe social distancing, and the AZ tourists don’t. Many of us here fully sympathize with the sentiments of those in HI who don’t want tourists at this time. There are simply too many irresponsible people among them.
I totally agree. There are to many tourist arriving and not wearing mask. We have low numbers because we followed the guidelines and continue to wear mask. Please stay on the mainland until further notice.
There is a balance between gradually reopening the economy and controlling the resurgence of C0vid19 cases.
First of all, Hawaii, and especially Kauai have had a very low incidence of cases, even though tourism was halted weeks after travelers with possible C0vid 19 cases had already arrived. There is a small resurgence of cases currently on the mainland, mostly in some states such as Arizona and Texas, which hadn’t fully reached their peaks. The north eastern states have seen continuing declines. Most cases of CV 19 occur in 21-65 year olds, who have a low hospitalization and even lower mortality rates. CV 19 will likely be with us for a couple of years, but unfortunately, immunization will not be the silver bullet that the press makes it out to be. The traditional flu vaccine has success rates of 23-70%, and 25% of the population will not get vaccinated. The point is, there will be no “all clear” that CV 19 is over, and making your population – including the large number not covered by unemployment – wait for this – is placing politics over the economy, most of the population and small businesses. I’m happy for those of you on augmented unemployment, medicare or full government salaries and pensions who do not depend on tourism- but where is your compassion and concern for those who are not so fortunate? The two week quarantine on new arrivals is killing tourism and homeowners trying to return home.
Haven’t you drawn this out long enough?
“placing politics over the economy”
Wow. That is beyond a stretch, it’s totally unreal. C0VID is a disease. There’s nothing political about it. Dealing with it is a public health issue. The political part is when people pretend that the issue isn’t health. Yes, there is an economic issue, it’s very important, and it needs to be dealt with. But to pretend that quar antine measures are political is both ludicrous and offensive.
Aloha,
My husband and I come to Maui twice a year. My heart is in Maui even when I am not. I do fear sometimes now, we may not be wanted. I can certainly understand some resentment at how Hawaii was commandeered from the native Hawaiians in 1893. It was wrong. I do have a great respect for the Hawaiian people. I wish to be more a part of the Hawaiian culture. I do hope that it is not the majority of Hawaiians that rather we not be there.
We were grateful to get to Hawaii before the pndemic this year. We did feel a distinct difference from previous visits in Oahu. Oddly enough it was from hotel staff, specifically the concierge group. Big Island was vastly different. Hotel staff was very welcoming and appreciative despite what began to unfold unforeseen by all of us. We love Hawaii, but it is difficult to want to spend time somewhere your last visit left such an impression. We will definitely think a bit longer about visiting Oahu again.
Sorry to be so late in commenting, but somehow I missed this post before. The ‘vibe’ on O’ahu is definitely not what it used to be, and even in the water (surfing) you can always tell the surfers from ‘country’ and from other islands because they are more open and friendly. (Of course, part of this is tactical: they are on someone else’s territory so it’s the smart thing to do.) I suspect much of the difference is increases in both population and in tourism. Honolulu is a big city, with all the issues and attitudes that come with that situation. Add roaring tour buses, huge hotels that block views and ocean access, local shops being torn down to create tourist-oriented shopping malls and arcades, local shops being replaced by mainland-style chain stores, surf breaks jammed with tourists who often put others at risk, and general masses of people everywhere in season – all this is almost guaranteed to create some bad feelings. I’m living in San Diego now and I’m seeing the same thing happening here. Places do change, and sometimes a specific place has had its time. For me, that has happened in the Honolulu area and other parts of O’ahu as well. You may be having the same experience.
Aloha my Kauai! My husband and I are usually vacationing on the beautiful island paradise of Kauai during the spring. It looks like our third attempt of a visit this year will now be canceled. This truly saddens me but I wish health for all, more than a vacation for myself. As far as “preparing” for reopening… What is holding you back on the process of preparing? I would have thought cleaning procedures and protocol, etc would have “already” been in place. I’m missing my Kauai Aloha, please be safe. 🌴
Thanks for your comment. We don’t have an answer to why at least the procedure for reopening hasn’t been revealed. The governor says we will learn next week.
Maybe one thing holding them back on reopening is the question of how to deal with visitors who refuse to cooperate on distancing and other rules. Even with the tiny number of inbound travelers, there have been a number of blatant violations of trust. Think of how many more there would be if Hawai’i were opened up totally. Let’s face it, there are just too many people who don’t think rules apply to them. And who don’t have any desire to respect the locals anywhere. (We saw that problem while in the Islands, and now that we’re in San Diego we see it here with people from our neighboring state.)
I think you are right Dave.
I’m amazed that the simple fact that Hawaii wants to first allow people from areas with very low infection rates is even an issue.
Seems like simple common sense to me. You can’t just open the doors without any caution and then see what happens, we have too much to lose if the return of tourism isn’t done carefully.
Well, that begs the questions: What are the rules? And are the rules simply total [edited] to begin with?
I’ve been at my house on the big island since early much and all I’ve really seen is an [edited] over-reaction by the state and the county–and a massive waste of time, money, and resources–prohibiting white people / “tourists” from doing things that are completely allowed by [edited] “locals”. There is AB-solutely a huge double standard in terms of enforcement of so calld “rules”. And, ultimately, if only 1 person–or 5 people–or 10 people–on the entire island have this virus… why are the other 220,000 forced to sit around for months with their thumbs [edited] for no good reason?
So what? Some people came, they agreed to quar antine–which was a stupid requirement to begin with–and they “broke out” of quar antine to go get something to eat… or go for a swim in the ocean…. Big deal. None of those people were (a) proven to have the virus or (b) proven to have spread it to anyone. And if everyone already here is ALREADY wearing masks and over-santizing constantly–how are they going to spread anything anyway? It’s retarded. If the beach parks were originally “closed”–unless you were [edited] and / or swimming / surfing / fishing–why couldn’t visitors be allowed to do the same? If it’s safe for locals to do–why is it unsafe for visitors?
Nice to see some great perspectives on here and realistic ones about this temporary situation we are all in.
I have to say the people who are bad mouthing Hawaii when in fact they have done an outstanding job
of keeping the population safe sure seem to be coming from an odd perspective. What’s wrong with success?
Hawaii is arguably the safest state in the country now, it seems to be very thoughtfully trying to open up and will open up.
So those of you who love Hawaii and respect what we are doing, the day is getting closer when you will be able to visit
a transformed and truly unique paradise. Less crowded and filled with a population skilled at finding common ground with people from all over the world and after what we have all been through will have a renewed appreciation for each other and for what is at that heart of the Aloha spirit……mutual respect.
You angry name calling people tossing insults and complaining about “that democratic” state and are threatening to go
to Florida, the Bahamas or wherever really don’t get Hawaii anyway. We will all be better of with a few less of those folks.
And before anyone jumps in with what about the Economic damage?
Of course it hurts, but fortunately many are in fact covered by unemployment and the stimulus money for now.
It still hurts but we will recover thanks to much needed and justified government aid.
The economic damage would have been far greater and longer lasting if Hawaii hadn’t done such a good job
of being proactive. Not to mention the price of a human life.
Now we have to balance the cost of human lives hurt by the quar antine over the long run and the potential
for people to get sick and dying when we open up….not easy and I’m glad it’s not my call.
Sadly we all live in a country that currently has very divisive leadership at the top that is making it very hard to come together
and work on solutions.
“Of course it hurts, but fortunately many are in fact covered by unemployment and the stimulus money for now.”
But even MORE are NOT covered by this funny money… debt… piled up on top of billions more pre-existing debt (Hawaii; trillions more at the federal level). So… what about them? Who’s going to make THEM whole when they lose their business and they lose their house?
“The economic damage would have been far greater and longer lasting if Hawaii hadn’t done such a good job of being proactive. Not to mention the price of a human life.”
Really? Says who? Cite your sources on this. You are basically saying here that you can predict the future–with a variety of differnet choices factored in Clearly you cannot. No one can know what the end result would have been five, ten, 20 yrs from now–had the state handled things differently. Right?
And you mention “the price of a human life”. What is that price? Do you have a number? Is it a million? TEN million? 100 million? I must be quantifiable–or the phrase wouldn’t be “the price of a human life”. 2600-ish people a year die in Hawaii from heart disease. Couldn’t many of those deaths be prevented if the state was willing to spend $1,000,000 per person to prevent or treat heart disease? $10,000,000? 300 people a year commit suicide in Hawaii–couldn’t most of those be prevented if we threw enough money at mental health? So… then… what IS the value of a human life here… and who gets to make that decision?
Clearly you haven’t thought your reply through very far.
I’m curious. To what people does Hawaii belong? Were there indigenous people here before the Pacific Islanders sailed here? What if you came from Asia to work the fields 150 years ago? At what point is it your land and others are tourists? In several states that I have lived in, we called them visitors and immigrants, not tourists. I’ve also never felt
the state belonged to me or people who had lived there for many generations. Apparently, there were indigenous people living on the mainland before Native American tribes (who apparently came from Asia) migrated throughout
the land.
I’ve been visiting Hawaii for over 40 years, and it has become much more densely populated – not just tourists, but Hawaiians. The population of the world increased from 3.2 Billion in 1970 to 7.2 Billion now, and 9.4B by 2050. Unfortunately, the world is changing whether we like it or not – and we have to accept it. It’s so common for people
to pull up the ladder after they have moved to a nice location. Change can’t be stopped, but it can be well managed.
By the way, the biggest driver of climate change is our exploding world population, especially in the third world. Currently, the US produces only 14% of world CO2, with 25% of the world commerce. All those new people will want a better life which requires cheap energy.
To my knowledge the Polynesians were the first inhabitants. Who were the indigenous people on the Mainland before the Native Americans (who came from Asia)?
Regarding “who owns a location”, obviously it’s whose name is on the land titles, ultimately. When it comes to the sentiment of the locals, however, I think it’s more about whoever lived here before we became so dependent on tourism and before outside investors and “transplants” started exploiting Hawaii–probably beginning in the 80’s. Until then, housing was affordable, traffic was bearable, beaches uncrowded. We had tourists, but nowhere near today’s millions. The demise of the sugar and pineapple industries changed all that.
You’re right about “pulling up the ladder,” but it seems to me it’s 40 years too late, sadly.
My age gives me a little more perspective; Hawaii was always an expensive place to live. Going back to the 60’s and probably before, food and housing were always high compared to most of the mainland.
Don’t blame tourism on the tourists. Your local government approved every one of the hotel and condo developments that
is attracting tourists.
You as a resident has a vote to use. The tourists do not.
No matter where you are, you’re a tourist if you came for other than business, residence, or other limited activities (attend a funeral, etc.) It has nothing to do with your ethnic origin or how long your ancestors have lived wherever.
Every state in the US, and many cities and towns, have tourist bureaus or visitor bureaus. And of course the same is true in Mexico, Europe, Japan, etc. So yes, wherever you go, they have a designation of “tourist” for non-business visitors.
The US has the second largest carbon footprint on the planet, and the largest per capita. China has the largest. China’s footprint is 2x that of the US. China’s population is 4x that of the US, so per capita it’s 1/2 . Not sure how this relates to Hawaiians and tourists, but since you brought it up…
Now if you get onto the topic of “locals only” there are some valid points. Often the most vociferous and obnoxious “locals” in Hawai’i are haoles from the mainland who arrived anywhere over a few months ago and are trying desperately to act “local.” That’s why they are so easy to spot. Just ignore them.
Your new Governor has become a laughing stock on the mainland to be clear. David Ige is rightfully being ripped off island, and rightfully so. C0VID is a problem but his catostrophic mis-management is by far the worst of all 50 States. Today is June 1 and people still have to arrive and shelter for 14 days? Who on earth would do that? You have next to no cases and many restaurants and hotels will NEVER EVER recover from this. Best fix this fast before people discover other islands and never return to Hawaii. Ive been coming to Haawaii since 1976 and love it. I lived on Kauai from 81 to 83 and it’s still my favorite island. I’m not very political but have noticed that HI is always 100% Democrats in just about everything ever. Inouye was powerful when he wasn’t sleeping. Mazie is seriously uninformed, loud and very annoying. She needs to get her facts straight before popping off with party line BS.
1. Most people on the mainland have never heard of Gov. Ige.
2. About 2 dozen US states have some form of quar antine for visitors, often about 14 days.
Your anti-Hawai’i comments are not based on reality.
I agree with James G. Hawaii is probably the most mismanaged state in many regards including the c0vid mess. Didn’t think it could get worse then my state of California, but, your Governor has messed up more then ours. As for the initial topic of how we tourists are viewed by the locals.Those in the tourism industry treat us nice as one would expect, but, many of the locals don’t want us there and I understand that. We have made the CA to HI trip 40 times. I still have some Hawaiian Airline miles’s to use, but, after that we will go to Mexico where we are more welcome.
We held up Hawaii as stellar example of how to handle the and emic, as we here in NY ran out of body bags! Economic stress will resolve when the quar antine is lifted. No one gives up the Islands as their ultimate dream!
It’s not just Hawaii that suffers when some tourists come with entitled attitudes of “I spent this money so I deserve X”. As humans we need to stop the idiocy of those entitled attitudes. Resident lives and health are more important than entitled opinions. Environmental protection and native species protection is more important than any false entitlement a person might feel they deserve. A little respect and appreciation goes a very long way. I stand with the people of Hawaii on this one. As much as I love visiting and it was heartbreaking to have to cancel plans twice this year, I WILL WAIT it out patiently and with respect for those who call Hawaii home. Also a big shout out to those in the tourism industry in Hawaii, who are doing their best to be flexible with cancellations and adjustments. I know they are had hit by this and my personal experience with the need to change existing plans has been met with kindness and accommodation despite the pain I know these businesses are facing. Mahalo.
One of the reasons I come to Oahu every year is because people including my fellow tourists are generally respectful and friendly.I don’t know where these rude tourists you speak of hang but it’s definitely not any place I’ve been.
As someone who’s served tourists, I can say the majority were fine, but there are many who are less so. As a visitor you are less likely to see bad attitudes. All that said, I see many of those with “entitled” attitudes among the commenters who are demanding we open, insulting our leaders and State, etc. There are also many considerate and sympathetic comment posters like Jenn. I wish we could let these people back to Hawaii and keep out those “I’m taking my business elsewhere,” “Hawaii shouldn’t be a state,” “Me Me Me, I gotta have my beach,” people. I can dream at least.
Keep dreaming Kalina T. You wont have to worry about typical tourism in Hawaii. Newsflash: rude tourists are everywhere!
Hawaiians open thier mouth and expect everyone to respect them and their culture. instead of doing something productive, it just becomes passive aggressiveness and poor me that Hawaii is USA.
Its way past time Hawaii gets thier act together! 😀. Stop blaming others for your own laziness or lack of success etc. this includes lack of responsibly managing tourism so that it doesnt overrun oahu. Sure not everyone in hawaiii falls into these categories.
Kalina – I can relate to what you say. I live in a small mountain town in Colorado that is becoming overrun with tourists right now, even though our Governor has asked them not to come. Apparently, they believe the request is for someone else. According to our Governor, we citizens of the state aren’t supposed to travel more than 10 miles from our homes. So how does that explain the multitude of vehicles and RVs from California, Texas and Arizona? I’ve never been to Hawaii and was scheduled to visit the first week of April. Naturally, we cancelled our trip. We hope to visit next winter and I promise we will not act entitled.
Mahalo for your thoughtful words of understanding and realizing we are a tourism state but Hawaii is our home too. Hawaii will reopen for all again and it will be spectacular.
Just heard about the 2-4 week extension of the 2 week curfew on visitors to Hawaii by your governor in Hawaii. Talk about disdain of government employees on full salary extending their holiday until many small businesses go bankrupt, and non unemployment Eligible workers losing their jobs, homes, and being forced to leave the islands. I understand that Hawaii is a blue state, but being the only “state” to not open up with so few cases is unacceptable to those of us who believe in science and a balance between safety and reopening a struggling economy. The only way to fix this is to vote out these xenophobic politicians and find some that really care about the people. The panic promulgated by the press from the east coast has convinced too many to fear that a reasonable return to normal life and the Aloha spirit is dangerous. Comments welcome.
You sound very angry. With all due respect, I realize that Hawai’i’s continuing to be closed isn’t convenient for those of us who live on the mainland, but that’s not our decision to make. The majority of Hawai’i citizens are very worried about the vi rus and about the safety of their families. What you view as xenophobia is viewed by others as a concern for public safety.
I don’t know why you put the word “state” in quotation marks, but Hawai’i is a state and has been for over sixty years. Some tourists forget that, and some residents regret it.
You talk about the Kaua’i condo you’ve owned for thirty years, so you are undoubtedly familiar with Kaua’i Mayor Derek Kawakami. He is most definitely a politician who cares about people! And he is incredibly popular. He supports the Stay Home order, and the Kaua’i people support it. Kaua’i has had no new cases recently and neither has Maui, and the citizens don’t want any.
A few weeks ago on this site a woman commented that Hawai’i belongs to everyone, not just the residents. I didn’t say anything at the time, but I couldn’t disagree more. The residents of the state certainly own their state. We who choose to visit it are just that — visitors. Most of us do so graciously and appreciate the privilege. When it comes back, we will be grateful to do so safely.
More about the unfortunate way many Hawaiians seem to feel about non-Hawaiians. I have owned a Condo on Kauai for 30 years. Over two years, my property taxes were increased by 100% in the 2000’s, while native Hawaiian property tax annual increases are limited to only 3%. My clients pay a 15% tax on their rental fees, and a 70% tax rate on car rentals. The income from these enormous taxes supplements the income from tourism itself, which is the major portion of the Hawaiian economy.
My suggestion is that the Hawaiian Government and it’s politicians should do a whole lot more to set an example by letting Hawaiians know about this and the Aloha Spirit. I’m pretty certain that these xenophobic comments and government actions (visitors being told to leave in March) are due to a small minority of citizens, but where is outcry against this from the large majority of Hawaiians?
Amen! The negative talk about the ‘disrespectful’ tourists is very disturbing.
99.9% of the tourists we have seen, especially on Kauai are good citizens who obey the laws
and enjoy the beauty of the islands.
Talking stink about immigrants… Illegal Immigrants would be simular to your disagreement with Tourists coming. Yet tourist contribute to your tax base. Illegal Immigrants use our infastructure, medical, police, fire and Schools and do NOT pay into the system. They take jobs from citizens. It may not be the best job but someone trying to overcome their situation should not have the competition from an illegal immigrant.
Thank you for the opportunity for this dialog.
I come to Hawaii as off season as possible. I love and respect your culture. In reading many comments I think that I am hearing there is a REAL embalance. Too many tourist to population maybe.
Illegal immigrants and tourists? Really? Immigrants work harder pay taxes etc and get NO benefit from it. They take jobs YOU AND I dont want to do. See white america is too lazy to take the jobs immigrants do so to compare a fat lazy tourist coming to dump garbage, use resources etc and with an immigrant coming for work is a BS comparison.
Good people are good people regardless of their nationality or immigration status.
Good for you, why would she make a comment like above on Immigrants. Hawaii is 90% immigrants brought here by the Sugar cane and Pineapple barens. Working hard to support their families.No lazy American would work 12 hrs a day in a pineapple or sugar cane field. If they are any resentment towards tourists its thoughts like the above comment that create resentment.
I am deeply disappointed by the lack of an “Aloha Spirit” on the part of so many of the politicians in Hawaii, especially on Kauai, where I have owned a home for 30 years. On Kauai, there has not been a case of CV19 for 5 weeks. Tourism, while bringing more traffic, has also brought prosperity to most of the people of Hawaii, and I find the attitude of many of it’s politicians both ungrateful and, frankly, rude.
A crises like this usually brings out the best of humanity in this type of circumstance; in this case it brings out the xenophobia and lack of appreciation for what provides for your economy from your leadership. Citizens of Kauai and Hawaii, is this really the message you want to send to the world?
Wow. We have immediate family on Kaua’i and we had to cancel our trip to see them. We’re sad, but not angry. We understand that Kaua’i wants to protect its citizens, and it would be impossible to implement a “pick and choose” system. This won’t last forever. In the grand scheme of life, it’s a bump in the road.
Aloha to you, RH.
I live in New York and I’ve been to Oahu 5 times .I think the idea that tourists are rude and disrespectful is a myth because I have never witnessed it.
Hawaii values visitors ***who respect and abide by the laws***- blatant disrespect by not staying in hotel room (since there is no way to verify that you are not an active carrier) is an danger to all who come in contact with you, endangering multi generations of families living here
you will go home after infecting/spreading the virus and we have to deal with the consequences- hospitalization/death/community spread and worse- impacting the ability of the US military stationed here to respond to any global threat
people should not think ONLY about having “fun on vacation” but respect others and listen to the reasons for all laws put in place- as an example -look at how Kauai has improved- over 30 days without reported new cases, due to residents following the temporary laws put into place
keep Hawaii safe for everyone and all future generations of resident/visitors
We traveled to Hawaii for 2 weeks in February. We have traveled extensively to Europe, Africa, Central America and the Caribbean. I have never met as many rude people as we met in Maui. We talked about with other travelers and they had the same comments. Even small things like sitting at a bar at the end of happy hour, comments like “serve the locals first and the if there is time (them pointing to hotel guest), we need the discount since we live here”. To asking a question about a local restaurant, I was told “if you have to ask then you don’t live here, figure it out” Locals May have moved to heaven but they act like they are living in Hell. I will say every native Hawaiian we met was gracious and kind always with smile on their face.
We have never, we Mean Never, had an experience like that since we started going there in 2003! We have been greeted with smiles and very pleasant conversations! We Love Maui, we Love the people, we respect their culture, we always clean up after ourselves and occasionally others as well. We have always stayed in condos and in 2011, we were able to purchase one in Maalaea.
I am a longtime Hawai’i resident who moved away about a half year ago. We were moving “to” not so much as away. It was all good, leaving a place and people we loved for the new.
Things did change over the years we lived there. The local government became ever more obviously beholden to the hotel industry. The grass roots sorts of organizations that sprouted in Puna during the eruption were not as helpful to people there as they suggested they would be. And more than anything else, people allowed themselves to be made ever more antagonistic towards each other. This was apparent in the anti TMT movement and the anti vacation rental movement. All this however seemed mostly a product of troubled times, of a society worldwide being thrown into torment by divisive forces.
The attitudes surfacing now however are deeply disturbing. People I know well are coming across as anti visitor. There is nothing different about Hawai’i and visitors than there is about say the wine country and visitors. People come to a place because it is beautiful and welcoming. They come because it is exotic and because they expect to have a good time. The visitor experience is what the people of the island offer. If visitors disappoint, look to what they encounter. Look at the hawkers on Maui, for example. Pretty ugly. Look at the attitudes in Kailua. Far from welcoming, now or then. If you don’t like visitors, don’t live in the heart of one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. What can visitors expect now? And into the future?
In an ideal Hawai’i ’, there would be fewer people everywhere because travel itself is taking a big hit. Big open air eateries will thrive and offer the same great local catch they used to. Resorts will probably have concierge room service with personal shoppers from their boutiques. Prices will go up because costs of everything will go up. It is hard to envision Hawai’i as other than a rich person’s paradise in the years to come. Unless the people of Hawai’i themselves make an effort to find their aloha and ways to show it. This starts with changing the attitude that Hawai’i is too special for you. We all suffer equally from the effects of the virus. All of us suffer. Hawai’i clamped down and has almost no vi rus. And has almost no immunity. There are trade offs.
The very best solution for Hawai’i is to require a test when visitors get off the plane. If they test vi rus free they get to go on with their vacation. Forget about these expensive temperature taking machines. Way too many are asymptomatic and carriers. There will likely be no perfect tests. This is what we live with. And if there aren’t enough medical facilities (there aren’t enough doctors) address that. Don’t blame it on the visitors.
Visitors please understand the story of how our monarcy was tragically ended. But the Aloha spirit still remains with the locals and those visitor who want to share or be a part in the Aloha in this island I call my home. To malama the Aina and respect the kupuna and keiki. Follow the instructions in this time of a pan demic. If you must travel to visit Hawaii islands, be tested first before even getting on an airplane.
Mahalo..Kauai is my home land.
Yes, as a resident of Kailua, Hi for over 34 years, I and my children as well as my Husband who is a Hawaiian, have seen a change in tourism in the Islands. We totally understand that the Islands depend almost solely on tourism and accept that. However, the blame shouldn’t be on the residents here. Government and business interests here have overwhelmed the residents with tourists, tour buses, overcrowded beaches, restaurants, malls, sidewalks, roads and rentals. Our neighborhoods are being taken over by illegal short term rentals to the point that residents cannot find rentals. The oversight for same is minimal. Residents are second place to the profit the government and business interests put in their pockets. That being said, there should be a concerted effort to balance the tourism industry and the way of living of our residents, as well as relying on other industries than tourism. We, too, would like to enjoy our Islands and keep them safe ecologically, financially and economically .
I lived on the Big Island for a year and taught school at Wiamea Elementary School 20 yrs ago. I’ve never forgotten my time there. Ive always felt welcomed and everyone I met was so kind. I planned on buying a home there this year because Hawaii has always been the place I felt the most at home. So I’ll wait.. give the people and the Island a chance to move beyond this crazy time and place where we ALL find ourselves. The people of Hawaii deserve to do what they feel is best for their homeland. Let’s show them some respect, kindness, patience and a little ALOHA Spirit❤ If we can do that I’m sure they will welcome us back when the time is right.
We are on island (Kauai) for several months a year. I have often thought that the locals should be careful what they wish for, especially in recent months. I know it is not fun to have hundreds and thousands of tourists on the roads and on your beautiful beaches. But the island economy has evolved to be tourism-based. So even if you are not directly involved with tourists, it is likely that a family member or friend is. And that is their livelihood. Our experiences have been warm with aloha and we give aloha. I know many tourists can be rude and all we can do is ask them to be respectful. But don’t cut off your nose to spite your face and make those millions of tourists choose the Caribbean, or French Polynesia or Bali. You need the financial inflow.
The Hawaiian economy is based largely upon tourism, but many “locals” have forgotten that their greatly increased standard of living is due to tourism. Unfortunately, Hawaii also is a welfare state, with generous benefits for those who cannot or chose not to work. This statewide generosity is dependent on the fairly high taxes on hotel rooms, condos,
rental cars, etc, although with little given back to those who contribute -such as road repairs, walking paths, and park
improvements. This xenophobic attitude is probably due to a small percentage who don’t appreciate their good fortune, but what I haven’t heard in these statements are from the residents who should condemn these attitudes and appreciate the Aloha spirit. I’ve owned a home here for 30 years, and these attitudes are apparently the true face of many Hawaiians
WOW you do realize we are in a pan demic? 100s of thousands dying world wide did it occur to you that maybe they are a bit freaked out by 20 million visitors flooding their shores right now? Hawaii had a thriving pineapple business for years but tourism knocked basically most of that out. You sound more like a xenophobe than most of the locals I have seen comment. You act as though the Hawaiian natives should bow to you and worship you since you own a house there? Really now
Precisely! Pretty insulting to hear about how grateful we should be to have millions come here (visit or transplant) and crowd us out of our paradise. Raise our living standard!? No way. Our kids can’t afford to live here because housing costs are too high. OR they have to work 2-3 jobs. Meanwhile “outsiders” come here, buy property and rent them out to tourists. Very few TVR owners are “natives” (meaning born and raised here). Yes, it’s sad that we have to depend on tourism so much, but if you were all in our shoes you’d understand that it’s simply too much. (I am 65, born and raised on 3 different islands; great grandparents worked the plantations; parents worked for shipyard and schools). 60’s, 70’s and 80’s were wonderful times.) Yes, Hawaii will suffer from this situation, but I’ll bet that it’ll be business as usual in a couple of years, unfortunately.
Understand what you’re saying, but consider what the unemployment rate would be if there were no tourists. There is no local economy outside of tourism, and even more children would be leaving for the mainland. I agree that too many tourists have spoiled paradise – but it’s still a beautiful paradise compared to most places in the world. It’s a privilege to be able to visit or live in such a wonderful place – for all of us. We just need to find the right balance between preserving the beauty and the experience and excessive tourism.
We cannot stop higher prices for homes. In Seattle, where we live, the average cost for an ordinary 3 bedroom is $900,000. Your kids, our kids, can’t afford a house because there are too many of us, not enough high paying jobs, because of the high paying high tech jobs that are dominating the job market.
The world is what it is, and we can’t turn back the clock. Instead of fighting among ourselves, let’s work together to find a solution that benefits our children, and the earth, first.
Susan O.
Thank you for opening this discussion. I read Beat of Hawaii religiously to keep in touch. We come to Hawaii several times a year when we are lucky enough to be able to. Our family loves the Aloha spirit and the beauty of the islands. We are respectful, puchase from local vendors and enjoy their conversations.
But it is hard sometimes to be judged before you really know me or my family. We have had many encounters on the beaches with the younger Hawaiians that clearly do not want us there. That always makes me sad. In California we have many visitors and that isn’t the way I greet them.
Having said all that we still come and look forward to making connections and sharing the Aloha spirit. Thank you
Susan so true. This isn’t the way people on the Mainland treat our tourists. Hawaii is America after all. I suggest that these Hawaiians that don’t want us to visit that they don’t ever come to the Mainland.
I have no problem with tourists, Hawaii is awesome! I get it! But respect for the local population and the land is paramount. We often see and hear about visitors who feel they have the right to do anything they want here. Feeling entitled to Crossing barriers onto sacred lands and private lands and dangerous areas risking the lives of our first responders because they came here to spend their money and they “can do what ever they want because its the united states”. Not pono behavior. Learn all you can about the culture of Hawaii nei and think of how you would feel if someone was trampling around your backyard doing whatever they wanted and showing disrespect. Respect is huge here, come with a grateful and humble spirit no problem, say thank you to your servers and hotel staff. If you don’t know something ask a local they will be more than happy to help. It is very much like going to another country, courtesy and respect go a long way here. The culture is different but wonderful. Hawaiians are your friends not your servants. Another thing that must be considered is that many, many families live in multigenerational homes, the Kapuna (our elders) are treasured here. To come here during a pan demic putting our essential workers at risk who then have to go home to elderly parents and grandparents is not respectful. Please stay where you are until this passes. Our limited medical infrastructure cannot handle a great influx of sick people. We need to protect our families too and we are doing that by limiting visitors to the islands at this time, if that does not make sense to you then you are probably not suited to being a visitor in this particular place. Our numbers are some of the lowest because we are staying home and protecting our ohana and to see people come from hotbeds of infection and flout the rules will not be tolerated by locals or government here. We are a small place and we watch out for each other. Show us the repect that we should be given, its not just your playground but our hime.
As someone who lives in a touristy mountain town in Colorado, I understand exactly how Hawaiians feel at this time. During the summer, the sidewalks here are so crowded with tourists, it’s hard to walk and restaurants have long wait times. Roads are crowded with those who don’t understand our traffic signals and parking in non-existent. Now, with our restaurants, recreational areas and most stores still closed, we are seeing a huge influx of tourists from New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and California. We feel that just by their presence, they don’t have respect for those of us who live here. My family was supposed to vacation in Maui the first week of April but made the decision to stay home for your safety and for ours. I just hope that we can visit before the year’s postponement allowed by the landlord and the airlines is up. We promise to respect you and your beautiful island as we do our own home.
Mahalo Nui Tanya, I am a Kauai born residence and seen how things have changed through the years. But I have been taught from my parents what aloha means and passing it on still to all . Had lots of practice as a worker at the once famous Coco palms resort. Enjoyed reading your message. Our Moto I respect..Uamau ke ea oka Aina ika pono.. ke Aloha Nui.
There seems to be a fair amount of us vs them going on here.
Peoples opinions tend to describe themselves more then the people they are talking about.
Most of the residents here get along just fine. If you are one of the minority haole folks that have to
talk stink about the people that live here it’s because YOU don’t know what Hawaii is all about. Most live
here with no problems. Hawaii is a beautiful place with awesome people. Everywhere has people that are rude,
everywhere has good people too. What you find reflects on you.
Hawaii is the embodiment of the Aloha spirit. You give respect you get it back double, you don’t, you don’t.
Thats island style, even locals will call out other locals when they are not acting pono, not just white people. What you say is true, what you put in is what you get back from your time in the islands. Positive or negative.
From my own observation the past 55 years since I first came to Hawaii as a wandering surfer in 66′. The local presents was raw and unpredictable to say the least. On one hand I’d meet wonderful Hawaiian people who’d open their homes to me and share everything they had. And on the other hand I’d meet other local people that weren’t as nice. By being beat-up, discriminated for jobs, called racial slurs and other demeaning things that I wouldn’t wish on anybody. Through the 70’s I worked many jobs and started getting to know the local population more intimately. A fair amount of local family members came to depend on the tourist industry. And passed the job skills in services learned in the industry down to the next generation. After going through a few recessions the tourist industry always gets hit the hard and so do the local people working in it. The hardest thing for me to see back then were families broken up and the younger family members moving away to the mainland to find work. Yes, Hawaii for the past 10 years has been exploding with tourism and more people. But the one thing I noticed was a large number of locals stepped out and started their own small businesses which allowed family members to not move away and work for the family business. Yes, in our current situation it’s nice to see Hawaii not crowded and the roads not packed. But, there is a lot of local people who are losing their businesses and livelihood due to this shut down. The people who are screaming the loudest to keep it closed are the newer transplants who think they are speaking up for the locals. But in my opinion, the local people are a sweet, loving and quite people and don’t speak up for themselves. They want and need the tourist to return so they can save their dignity and salvage what they are so quickly losing.
Not many remember the 60’s in Hawaii. My roomates and I were camping. We had long hair. We woke up to being beaten up by locals. We had rocks thrown at our heads and had to be hospitalized. Maui has come a long way from that thankfully. I understand the fear of the unknown. I understand the fear of the Wuhan flu. I now live in a hot climate (Arizona) where most of the cases and deaths are in nursing homes. Outside of that it is pretty safe. So most businesses have reopened in the past week. Gyms are open again and so are restaurants for dine in. We stayed home for 2 months. But it has to end sometime. This is not an excuse to take away our rights and liberties. And also our hospitals and emergency rooms are empty. They always were.
Hi! My first trip to the Hawaiian Islands was incredible mostly due to the friendships that my family made with locals. My son wanted to go fishing and had never caught a fish so we went to a beach park down the road from where we were staying. Upon arrival, one of the nicest most genuine guys asked, “what are you trying to catch? ” and the rest is history. Not only did he help my son catch his first fish, but he welcomed us into his family circle. We learned so much from him. Everyone was so free to teach us about Hawaiian life and its history and way of life. The love and respect of the land is what sticks in my mind. By the end of the trip his family and friends had a barbeque on the beach in our honor! This is why our love for Hawaii and its people are so special. But, our friendship was born out of mutual respect. Which brings me to my point. I don’t think that Locals hate tourists. I think they hate disrespectful and rude behavior. But then again, who doesn’t? Personally I think it’s not worth traveling if you are unwilling to learn about the people, the culture and the history of any place you go. Ultimately it’s the people and the memories that are created that make the experience! Hawaii will always be my happy place!! Thank you!
Hawaii like so many other travel destinations has come to rely to heavily on taxes collected from tourist activities. Instead of a balance tax base with tourist, manufacturing & sustainable agriculture government leaders found it easier to tax tourist. As has been posted here the islands have been invaded by well to do transplants. The influx of well to do transplants has driven up housing costs, cost of living and property taxes to a level that is forcing out the Hawaiian people. As an unintended consequence Hawaii routinely ranks last when it comes to being business friendly. Last! So short term Hawaii will be fine, but when the government money dries up Hawaii will need to welcome back those tourist dollars or suffer the harsh reality of high unemployment, crime and finally civil unrest.
i have been a visitor to hawaii for 12 years and a resident homeowner for 4 years, now happily back on the mainland. If you scratch the surface of the island and interact with native hawaiians , there is a very deep resentment which is race based. I got very tired of hearing how the islands were stolen and the kingdom needed to be restored as if i personally was responsible.For all the islanders who wanted the white people to leave and give back the island to hawaiians this epidemic should be the answer ton their dreams.
You are correct the same thing I experienced,
Now back on the mainland. I had a restaurant
And beautiful home but I got sick of hearing
The same thing you said. I sold everything
and moved back after living on Maui. I found
Many young Hawaiian men and women for some
Reason had pent up hate for white people. I would
Always be told we took their Islands. I would
Ask them where did you learn this and they could
Never have an answer. I now will spend my
Money in Florida or the Caribbean.
Hello this is a perfect example of why I vacation in Hawaii every year , Beautiful landscape,but more importantly the other folks vacationing around me,( mainland USA , Japanese and Australian) in my experience are respectful of all people locals included ?
I love Kauai. I come every year. I am a naturalist and I protect the beautiful nature in all of Hawaii. I believe in God and attend the Hawaiian churches on Sunday. yes I am a tourist but more than that, I am a peaceful respect friend of Hawaiian.
hope to see you in October 2020. Mahalo and Aloha!
Hi Eloise.
Thanks.
Aloha.
I have been coming to Hawaii, specifically Maui, for the past 13 years. I have never been shown anything other than the spirit of Aloha at any time. I also respect the land, culture and sacred nature of the island at all times. I have also spent a considerable amount of money during my visits to support local business owners. I feel as long as tourist act responsibly they will be welcome with open arms.
We have been coming to Kauai for 14 years of which the last 7 years staying for 2 months January & February. We volunteer and hike all over the island. We enjoy the people we work with and we share the enthusiasm we have with the tourists from all over the world. We respect the hikes that start in residential neighborhoods. We understand the culture and respect the people’s heritage. We have never had a bad experience in 14 years we have been every where on the island and the the other islands also. We have felt safe no matter where we are and time of day. We understand that tourist and locals can and do cop attitudes This Is when we feel that culture and the heritage of the island people prevail to reach out with an open hand it’s hard to do at times but it will work every time. We hope to back this winter the people and the culture it runs through our veins now. Mahalo Rick A. Iowa
Hi Rick.
Thanks.
Aloha.
It isn’t hard to figure out. All you have to do is look 2 weeks back.
It is called lock everyone up. [Edited].
Add to that college idiots having parties KNOWING (Dr. Confirmed) that they have the virus and then they are betting on WHO will catch it. It has been confirmed!
2 weeks later a drastic increase in cases.
As Denver Washington has said you cannot legislate Love.
Denzel Washington. Auto-NOT-SO-CORRECT.
You cannot legislate Love.
With the recent major uptick in CV 19 positive tests, HI seems to have made a good decision.
So far deaths are not up much, with most new cases under 40. There is more to this virus uptick
than bars and graduations. Perhaps we’ll find out someday, but our national leadership seems to
be preoccupied with re-election.
Seems like the people that are offended by Hawaii’s stance towards protecting itself and claim “they’ll go elsewhere” are getting
a bit of a wake up call. Europe has banned Americans and you can’t blame them. The mainland simply doesn’t have the virus under control as well as much of the rest of the world right now.
With that said, Hawaii is in position to become a uniquely safe corner of the U S .
Hawaii is the only state protected by 2500 miles of water, everyone has to fly in. That’s a huge opportunity to check everyone who enters.
If the preflight testing program is properly conducted and mask protocols are respected and finally testing and contact tracing is used properly Hawaii could be an amazing success story coming out of this. Also, the reality is the mainland is getting a wake up call about letting down their guard to early. I have faith in the majority of Americans and despite the Ken and Karens that are making the news, most Americans will heed what’s going on and the mainland will start to improve. All of this bods very well for Hawaii recovering in a very safe way and perhaps quicker then many realize…….I’m cautiously optimistic.
Aloha and good luck to everyone.
Hi John.
Thanks for your many (approaching 100) comments!
Aloha.
Hello from September 2020!
Im August, Hawaii has the highest Covid spread rate – every infected person contaminating 1.2 others. Now it’s the second lowest, at 0.8.
The draconian quarantine rules seem to have worked. They were pretty misguided though. For example, illegal to walk in the park alone without a mask, and now illegal to fo outside with your family/bubble members.
I have been visiting for 45 years and have owned a vacation property on Maui in a resort zone for 6 years. Over more than 40 visits I had only one significant bad experience with anyone face to face, and I feel that was just because a young man was showing off for his girlfriend by cursing at a stranger for no reason. I believe I have experienced so much aloha it because I treat others as I wish to be treated, with friendliness and respect. Online, it’s a totally different story. Any non local who spends any significant time on any of these forums is naturally repulsed by the hostile racist attitudes that are prevalent. It’s wrong to treat others that way, especially when the “bad” tourists are in the minority. Moreover, it is stupid for locals to bite the hand that feeds them by acting the way some of them do toward visitors and it is seriously naiive to pretend that Hawaii’s fragile economy isn’t completely dependent on bringing these visitors back, or that this situation can be changed any time soon, if at all. If you’ve had your eyes open, you’ve seen numerous posts from past visitors who won’t be back or are having second thoughts about their future travel plans, considering other destinations with residents that are more welcoming. The bad attitudes are literally taking food out of the mouths of local children, some of whom will ultimately not be able to stay in Hawaii because of the economic damage this hateful and misguided behavior is causing. My guests have left over a million dollars in Hawaii and I’ve paid six figures in taxes to the state, and spent a six figure number in Hawaii myself. I’ve acted like a gentleman to virtually everyone I’ve encountered and I can’t speak for all my guests but I feel that each of them should be judged as individuals and not for the overhyped misbehavior of some bad apples. There is no good reason for me or my guests to be disrespected online or in person unless and until one of us acts that way ourselves. I swear that I won’t. Hawaii is at a crucial crossroads now and the way its residents choose to conduct themselves going forward will have a profound impact on their future financial health and their ability to enjoy living in Hawaii and providing for their families. Please practice aloha. Mahalo for considering a kindler, gentler approach.
Hi Trevor.
Thank you.
Aloha.
My wife and I have been visiting Oahu every year for the past 10 years, also making a stop on the Big Island. Between the culture, the clean ocean air, and the laid back atmosphere, we have fallen in love with Hawaii. Although we’ve never had a bad experience with locals, we have seen instances which would cause frustration to those who live here. We will continue visiting to share the Aloha Spirit and soak in the soothing sounds, smells, and smiles from all who we’ve interacted with!!!
I have been saddened by some of the comments from locals because I love visiting your beautiful islands. I realize some tourists are disrespectful. I watched a man walk too close to a resting monk seal in October and ignore the people there watching over him. It made all of us mad. I ask visitors to be aware of the beautiful area we are in and take care of it. I ask locals to not judge all visitors by the actions of a few. I live in Colorado and some of the hunters here every year are horrible. Rationally- I know it’s a small percentage of the total hunters but emotionally – it’s hard to not lump them all together.
Mahalo. Most locals are very happy to welcome tourists just as most tourists are lovely to host. There are a few that are very vocal who have been rude just like the small percentage of tourists that create problems wherever they go. That small minority does not represent us. E Komo Mai…welcome and thankyou for visiting.
I have been to Maui 3 times in the last 2yrs. Really haven’t had a anyone be rude really just the opposite. With that being said have made many friends an most have moved there from the mainland.
In this world the person who owns the land is the name on the deed namely the last person who paid for it.In the real world this is how it’s always been, no one actually stole anything.
You seem to be ignoring the armed uprising and coup which took over the Islands illegally. Might want to read a bit of history. The deed isn’t always the last person who paid for the land. It can also be the last person who stole it through illegal occupation and eviction of the rightful owners. And of course it’s illogical and unethical to apply contemporary American/European land-ownership laws to previous situations. For one thing, land wasn’t bought and sold, and of course in a pre-literate society there were no written deeds. Communal lands in the Americas and elsewhere, as well as individual properties held through traditional common-law ownership systems, were taken through violence and threats of violence during the same colonial expansion that ended up with US possession of Hawai’i, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, etc.
Geez, that’s unnecessarily negative.
Remember, Hawaiian residents voted to join the US in 1950 or so to become a state of the US, and have received many financial, national security, and quality of life benefits since them. In the 1800 hundreds, Indigenous peoples in the US
did not believe the land belonged to anyone, but should be shared. There were many atrocities committed, some by both sides,
when Europeans with their traditions of land ownership, moved into the Americas. Times change, especially as the population of the world has exploded – 3.2B 1969 to 7.2B today, and 9.2B by 2050. In addition, US soldiers defended Hawaii against the Japanese during WWII, with many lives lost. In today’s world, an independent nation of Hawaii populated only by Hawaiians is not realistic. For example, what would the status be of “non-native” Hawaiians who were brought to Hawaii in the 1800s from Asia and Japan to work the sugar cane plantations. So I believe Hawaiian residents are much better off now in one of the most generous social program states than the alternatives. There are always tradeoffs – in this case for the better with globalization which cannot be reversed.
I have been a visitor for 40 years, a part time resident and homeowner for 30 years. I don’t like the traffic jams much either, but most are “locals” going to good jobs.
Thanks for the education, but I think we all must know this. This generation most definitely did not steal anything! Dude! Just like my ancestors never owned slave’s but still since I am white then I am thebad person! Quit it
Dave, I agree with everything you write!
Wow, you must be a fan of unamerican John Wayne…Actual quote
“I don’t feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them, if that’s what you’re asking,” Wayne said. “Our so-called stealing of this country from them was just a matter of survival. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.”
Or maybe you have a FLAG! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9W1zTEuKLY
So, I ask what your point is? That only Hawaiians, by some definition of what that means, should live in Hawaii, and everybody else should leave and tourists stay away? BTW, I am not a John Wayne fan or that comment you cited. Should people who live on the mainland US leave and return to Europe?
So, I have found Hawaii to be a wonderful home with wonderful people.
In light of the resurgence of CV 19 cases in some states, maybe the fairly restrictive policies will work out. I think the new policy of allowing visitors to return after a negative CV19 test is a reasonable step in the right direction.
Let’s let the Aloha spirit of the vast majority of Hawaiian residents prevail; tourists wear masks and be respectful, and hope for the best in our relationships, this epidemic, and getting through this together. Ok, Kevin?
Mahalo
I was born in Honolulu but now reside on the Mainland. I do travel back home to visit family every year however during this pan demic I did not return and do not plan to return until it is safe nationwide. I agree that tourist should not to travel to Hawaii for vacation during this time in order to lessen the spread of C0VID. If everyone heeds and listens to what is being asked of them instead of doing as they wish the vi rus could have been contained quicker than it is now taking.
All one needs to do is to look at the recent (6/16/20) incident in New Zealand where 2 visitors from the UK did not quar antine, were infected and then came in contact with many others to see what can happen without strict quar antining and restrictions on tourists. Hawaii and NZ are following correct procedures for stopping the spread. If the tourists really cared about Hawaii and its people they would understand.
The ignorance and selfishness of so many people is what the real problem is. Too many have no sense of civic virtue. They only care about themselves. Which is maybe why the world is in the mess it is.
Very well put. And as it relates to C0VID, too many people seem to think that ‘freedom’ means freedom to put others at risk. It’s a childish and irresponsible attitude.
We’re seeing that now in SoCal. Arizona now has the dubious honor of the highest positive infection rate in the nation. Use of hospitals, intensive care units and ventilators has set daily records over the past week. Why? Because too many people in AZ won’t wear masks or practice distancing. Now they’re coming out here to the beaches and parks and acting the same way. You can tell who they are from (1) the license plates and (2) the fact that the locals wear masks and observe social distancing, and the AZ tourists don’t. Many of us here fully sympathize with the sentiments of those in HI who don’t want tourists at this time. There are simply too many irresponsible people among them.
I totally agree. There are to many tourist arriving and not wearing mask. We have low numbers because we followed the guidelines and continue to wear mask. Please stay on the mainland until further notice.
There is a balance between gradually reopening the economy and controlling the resurgence of C0vid19 cases.
First of all, Hawaii, and especially Kauai have had a very low incidence of cases, even though tourism was halted weeks after travelers with possible C0vid 19 cases had already arrived. There is a small resurgence of cases currently on the mainland, mostly in some states such as Arizona and Texas, which hadn’t fully reached their peaks. The north eastern states have seen continuing declines. Most cases of CV 19 occur in 21-65 year olds, who have a low hospitalization and even lower mortality rates. CV 19 will likely be with us for a couple of years, but unfortunately, immunization will not be the silver bullet that the press makes it out to be. The traditional flu vaccine has success rates of 23-70%, and 25% of the population will not get vaccinated. The point is, there will be no “all clear” that CV 19 is over, and making your population – including the large number not covered by unemployment – wait for this – is placing politics over the economy, most of the population and small businesses. I’m happy for those of you on augmented unemployment, medicare or full government salaries and pensions who do not depend on tourism- but where is your compassion and concern for those who are not so fortunate? The two week quarantine on new arrivals is killing tourism and homeowners trying to return home.
Haven’t you drawn this out long enough?
“placing politics over the economy”
Wow. That is beyond a stretch, it’s totally unreal. C0VID is a disease. There’s nothing political about it. Dealing with it is a public health issue. The political part is when people pretend that the issue isn’t health. Yes, there is an economic issue, it’s very important, and it needs to be dealt with. But to pretend that quar antine measures are political is both ludicrous and offensive.
Mahalo RYH.
Aloha,
My husband and I come to Maui twice a year. My heart is in Maui even when I am not. I do fear sometimes now, we may not be wanted. I can certainly understand some resentment at how Hawaii was commandeered from the native Hawaiians in 1893. It was wrong. I do have a great respect for the Hawaiian people. I wish to be more a part of the Hawaiian culture. I do hope that it is not the majority of Hawaiians that rather we not be there.
Hi Gayla.
Thanks.
Aloha.
We were grateful to get to Hawaii before the pndemic this year. We did feel a distinct difference from previous visits in Oahu. Oddly enough it was from hotel staff, specifically the concierge group. Big Island was vastly different. Hotel staff was very welcoming and appreciative despite what began to unfold unforeseen by all of us. We love Hawaii, but it is difficult to want to spend time somewhere your last visit left such an impression. We will definitely think a bit longer about visiting Oahu again.
Sorry to be so late in commenting, but somehow I missed this post before. The ‘vibe’ on O’ahu is definitely not what it used to be, and even in the water (surfing) you can always tell the surfers from ‘country’ and from other islands because they are more open and friendly. (Of course, part of this is tactical: they are on someone else’s territory so it’s the smart thing to do.) I suspect much of the difference is increases in both population and in tourism. Honolulu is a big city, with all the issues and attitudes that come with that situation. Add roaring tour buses, huge hotels that block views and ocean access, local shops being torn down to create tourist-oriented shopping malls and arcades, local shops being replaced by mainland-style chain stores, surf breaks jammed with tourists who often put others at risk, and general masses of people everywhere in season – all this is almost guaranteed to create some bad feelings. I’m living in San Diego now and I’m seeing the same thing happening here. Places do change, and sometimes a specific place has had its time. For me, that has happened in the Honolulu area and other parts of O’ahu as well. You may be having the same experience.
I know I was a tourist before I was a resident. We don’t want to be hypocrites… Be kind to everyone and be honest about yourself. Aloha
Aloha my Kauai! My husband and I are usually vacationing on the beautiful island paradise of Kauai during the spring. It looks like our third attempt of a visit this year will now be canceled. This truly saddens me but I wish health for all, more than a vacation for myself. As far as “preparing” for reopening… What is holding you back on the process of preparing? I would have thought cleaning procedures and protocol, etc would have “already” been in place. I’m missing my Kauai Aloha, please be safe. 🌴
Hi Dee.
Thanks for your comment. We don’t have an answer to why at least the procedure for reopening hasn’t been revealed. The governor says we will learn next week.
Aloha.
Maybe one thing holding them back on reopening is the question of how to deal with visitors who refuse to cooperate on distancing and other rules. Even with the tiny number of inbound travelers, there have been a number of blatant violations of trust. Think of how many more there would be if Hawai’i were opened up totally. Let’s face it, there are just too many people who don’t think rules apply to them. And who don’t have any desire to respect the locals anywhere. (We saw that problem while in the Islands, and now that we’re in San Diego we see it here with people from our neighboring state.)
I think you are right Dave.
I’m amazed that the simple fact that Hawaii wants to first allow people from areas with very low infection rates is even an issue.
Seems like simple common sense to me. You can’t just open the doors without any caution and then see what happens, we have too much to lose if the return of tourism isn’t done carefully.
Well, that begs the questions: What are the rules? And are the rules simply total [edited] to begin with?
I’ve been at my house on the big island since early much and all I’ve really seen is an [edited] over-reaction by the state and the county–and a massive waste of time, money, and resources–prohibiting white people / “tourists” from doing things that are completely allowed by [edited] “locals”. There is AB-solutely a huge double standard in terms of enforcement of so calld “rules”. And, ultimately, if only 1 person–or 5 people–or 10 people–on the entire island have this virus… why are the other 220,000 forced to sit around for months with their thumbs [edited] for no good reason?
So what? Some people came, they agreed to quar antine–which was a stupid requirement to begin with–and they “broke out” of quar antine to go get something to eat… or go for a swim in the ocean…. Big deal. None of those people were (a) proven to have the virus or (b) proven to have spread it to anyone. And if everyone already here is ALREADY wearing masks and over-santizing constantly–how are they going to spread anything anyway? It’s retarded. If the beach parks were originally “closed”–unless you were [edited] and / or swimming / surfing / fishing–why couldn’t visitors be allowed to do the same? If it’s safe for locals to do–why is it unsafe for visitors?
Great input jared x
Nice to see some great perspectives on here and realistic ones about this temporary situation we are all in.
I have to say the people who are bad mouthing Hawaii when in fact they have done an outstanding job
of keeping the population safe sure seem to be coming from an odd perspective. What’s wrong with success?
Hawaii is arguably the safest state in the country now, it seems to be very thoughtfully trying to open up and will open up.
So those of you who love Hawaii and respect what we are doing, the day is getting closer when you will be able to visit
a transformed and truly unique paradise. Less crowded and filled with a population skilled at finding common ground with people from all over the world and after what we have all been through will have a renewed appreciation for each other and for what is at that heart of the Aloha spirit……mutual respect.
You angry name calling people tossing insults and complaining about “that democratic” state and are threatening to go
to Florida, the Bahamas or wherever really don’t get Hawaii anyway. We will all be better of with a few less of those folks.
And before anyone jumps in with what about the Economic damage?
Of course it hurts, but fortunately many are in fact covered by unemployment and the stimulus money for now.
It still hurts but we will recover thanks to much needed and justified government aid.
The economic damage would have been far greater and longer lasting if Hawaii hadn’t done such a good job
of being proactive. Not to mention the price of a human life.
Now we have to balance the cost of human lives hurt by the quar antine over the long run and the potential
for people to get sick and dying when we open up….not easy and I’m glad it’s not my call.
Sadly we all live in a country that currently has very divisive leadership at the top that is making it very hard to come together
and work on solutions.
And there were never any Indian Wars for hunting area or just pure prejudice. Right.
“Of course it hurts, but fortunately many are in fact covered by unemployment and the stimulus money for now.”
But even MORE are NOT covered by this funny money… debt… piled up on top of billions more pre-existing debt (Hawaii; trillions more at the federal level). So… what about them? Who’s going to make THEM whole when they lose their business and they lose their house?
“The economic damage would have been far greater and longer lasting if Hawaii hadn’t done such a good job of being proactive. Not to mention the price of a human life.”
Really? Says who? Cite your sources on this. You are basically saying here that you can predict the future–with a variety of differnet choices factored in Clearly you cannot. No one can know what the end result would have been five, ten, 20 yrs from now–had the state handled things differently. Right?
And you mention “the price of a human life”. What is that price? Do you have a number? Is it a million? TEN million? 100 million? I must be quantifiable–or the phrase wouldn’t be “the price of a human life”. 2600-ish people a year die in Hawaii from heart disease. Couldn’t many of those deaths be prevented if the state was willing to spend $1,000,000 per person to prevent or treat heart disease? $10,000,000? 300 people a year commit suicide in Hawaii–couldn’t most of those be prevented if we threw enough money at mental health? So… then… what IS the value of a human life here… and who gets to make that decision?
Clearly you haven’t thought your reply through very far.
My sentiments also, thank you.
I’m curious. To what people does Hawaii belong? Were there indigenous people here before the Pacific Islanders sailed here? What if you came from Asia to work the fields 150 years ago? At what point is it your land and others are tourists? In several states that I have lived in, we called them visitors and immigrants, not tourists. I’ve also never felt
the state belonged to me or people who had lived there for many generations. Apparently, there were indigenous people living on the mainland before Native American tribes (who apparently came from Asia) migrated throughout
the land.
I’ve been visiting Hawaii for over 40 years, and it has become much more densely populated – not just tourists, but Hawaiians. The population of the world increased from 3.2 Billion in 1970 to 7.2 Billion now, and 9.4B by 2050. Unfortunately, the world is changing whether we like it or not – and we have to accept it. It’s so common for people
to pull up the ladder after they have moved to a nice location. Change can’t be stopped, but it can be well managed.
By the way, the biggest driver of climate change is our exploding world population, especially in the third world. Currently, the US produces only 14% of world CO2, with 25% of the world commerce. All those new people will want a better life which requires cheap energy.
To my knowledge the Polynesians were the first inhabitants. Who were the indigenous people on the Mainland before the Native Americans (who came from Asia)?
Regarding “who owns a location”, obviously it’s whose name is on the land titles, ultimately. When it comes to the sentiment of the locals, however, I think it’s more about whoever lived here before we became so dependent on tourism and before outside investors and “transplants” started exploiting Hawaii–probably beginning in the 80’s. Until then, housing was affordable, traffic was bearable, beaches uncrowded. We had tourists, but nowhere near today’s millions. The demise of the sugar and pineapple industries changed all that.
You’re right about “pulling up the ladder,” but it seems to me it’s 40 years too late, sadly.
My age gives me a little more perspective; Hawaii was always an expensive place to live. Going back to the 60’s and probably before, food and housing were always high compared to most of the mainland.
Don’t blame tourism on the tourists. Your local government approved every one of the hotel and condo developments that
is attracting tourists.
You as a resident has a vote to use. The tourists do not.
Well said ‘Don’t blame tourism on the tourists’
If you don’t like something, vote out the people promoting it!
No matter where you are, you’re a tourist if you came for other than business, residence, or other limited activities (attend a funeral, etc.) It has nothing to do with your ethnic origin or how long your ancestors have lived wherever.
Every state in the US, and many cities and towns, have tourist bureaus or visitor bureaus. And of course the same is true in Mexico, Europe, Japan, etc. So yes, wherever you go, they have a designation of “tourist” for non-business visitors.
The US has the second largest carbon footprint on the planet, and the largest per capita. China has the largest. China’s footprint is 2x that of the US. China’s population is 4x that of the US, so per capita it’s 1/2 . Not sure how this relates to Hawaiians and tourists, but since you brought it up…
Now if you get onto the topic of “locals only” there are some valid points. Often the most vociferous and obnoxious “locals” in Hawai’i are haoles from the mainland who arrived anywhere over a few months ago and are trying desperately to act “local.” That’s why they are so easy to spot. Just ignore them.
Your new Governor has become a laughing stock on the mainland to be clear. David Ige is rightfully being ripped off island, and rightfully so. C0VID is a problem but his catostrophic mis-management is by far the worst of all 50 States. Today is June 1 and people still have to arrive and shelter for 14 days? Who on earth would do that? You have next to no cases and many restaurants and hotels will NEVER EVER recover from this. Best fix this fast before people discover other islands and never return to Hawaii. Ive been coming to Haawaii since 1976 and love it. I lived on Kauai from 81 to 83 and it’s still my favorite island. I’m not very political but have noticed that HI is always 100% Democrats in just about everything ever. Inouye was powerful when he wasn’t sleeping. Mazie is seriously uninformed, loud and very annoying. She needs to get her facts straight before popping off with party line BS.
1. Most people on the mainland have never heard of Gov. Ige.
2. About 2 dozen US states have some form of quar antine for visitors, often about 14 days.
Your anti-Hawai’i comments are not based on reality.
I agree with James G. Hawaii is probably the most mismanaged state in many regards including the c0vid mess. Didn’t think it could get worse then my state of California, but, your Governor has messed up more then ours. As for the initial topic of how we tourists are viewed by the locals.Those in the tourism industry treat us nice as one would expect, but, many of the locals don’t want us there and I understand that. We have made the CA to HI trip 40 times. I still have some Hawaiian Airline miles’s to use, but, after that we will go to Mexico where we are more welcome.
We held up Hawaii as stellar example of how to handle the and emic, as we here in NY ran out of body bags! Economic stress will resolve when the quar antine is lifted. No one gives up the Islands as their ultimate dream!
Wow. Please don’t come visit us. We want to stay safe, and you don’t seem to respect rules set by others.
It’s not just Hawaii that suffers when some tourists come with entitled attitudes of “I spent this money so I deserve X”. As humans we need to stop the idiocy of those entitled attitudes. Resident lives and health are more important than entitled opinions. Environmental protection and native species protection is more important than any false entitlement a person might feel they deserve. A little respect and appreciation goes a very long way. I stand with the people of Hawaii on this one. As much as I love visiting and it was heartbreaking to have to cancel plans twice this year, I WILL WAIT it out patiently and with respect for those who call Hawaii home. Also a big shout out to those in the tourism industry in Hawaii, who are doing their best to be flexible with cancellations and adjustments. I know they are had hit by this and my personal experience with the need to change existing plans has been met with kindness and accommodation despite the pain I know these businesses are facing. Mahalo.
One of the reasons I come to Oahu every year is because people including my fellow tourists are generally respectful and friendly.I don’t know where these rude tourists you speak of hang but it’s definitely not any place I’ve been.
As someone who’s served tourists, I can say the majority were fine, but there are many who are less so. As a visitor you are less likely to see bad attitudes. All that said, I see many of those with “entitled” attitudes among the commenters who are demanding we open, insulting our leaders and State, etc. There are also many considerate and sympathetic comment posters like Jenn. I wish we could let these people back to Hawaii and keep out those “I’m taking my business elsewhere,” “Hawaii shouldn’t be a state,” “Me Me Me, I gotta have my beach,” people. I can dream at least.
Keep dreaming Kalina T. You wont have to worry about typical tourism in Hawaii. Newsflash: rude tourists are everywhere!
Hawaiians open thier mouth and expect everyone to respect them and their culture. instead of doing something productive, it just becomes passive aggressiveness and poor me that Hawaii is USA.
Its way past time Hawaii gets thier act together! 😀. Stop blaming others for your own laziness or lack of success etc. this includes lack of responsibly managing tourism so that it doesnt overrun oahu. Sure not everyone in hawaiii falls into these categories.
Kalina – I can relate to what you say. I live in a small mountain town in Colorado that is becoming overrun with tourists right now, even though our Governor has asked them not to come. Apparently, they believe the request is for someone else. According to our Governor, we citizens of the state aren’t supposed to travel more than 10 miles from our homes. So how does that explain the multitude of vehicles and RVs from California, Texas and Arizona? I’ve never been to Hawaii and was scheduled to visit the first week of April. Naturally, we cancelled our trip. We hope to visit next winter and I promise we will not act entitled.
Jenn,
Mahalo for your thoughtful words of understanding and realizing we are a tourism state but Hawaii is our home too. Hawaii will reopen for all again and it will be spectacular.
Just heard about the 2-4 week extension of the 2 week curfew on visitors to Hawaii by your governor in Hawaii. Talk about disdain of government employees on full salary extending their holiday until many small businesses go bankrupt, and non unemployment Eligible workers losing their jobs, homes, and being forced to leave the islands. I understand that Hawaii is a blue state, but being the only “state” to not open up with so few cases is unacceptable to those of us who believe in science and a balance between safety and reopening a struggling economy. The only way to fix this is to vote out these xenophobic politicians and find some that really care about the people. The panic promulgated by the press from the east coast has convinced too many to fear that a reasonable return to normal life and the Aloha spirit is dangerous. Comments welcome.
Sleepdog G,
You sound very angry. With all due respect, I realize that Hawai’i’s continuing to be closed isn’t convenient for those of us who live on the mainland, but that’s not our decision to make. The majority of Hawai’i citizens are very worried about the vi rus and about the safety of their families. What you view as xenophobia is viewed by others as a concern for public safety.
I don’t know why you put the word “state” in quotation marks, but Hawai’i is a state and has been for over sixty years. Some tourists forget that, and some residents regret it.
You talk about the Kaua’i condo you’ve owned for thirty years, so you are undoubtedly familiar with Kaua’i Mayor Derek Kawakami. He is most definitely a politician who cares about people! And he is incredibly popular. He supports the Stay Home order, and the Kaua’i people support it. Kaua’i has had no new cases recently and neither has Maui, and the citizens don’t want any.
A few weeks ago on this site a woman commented that Hawai’i belongs to everyone, not just the residents. I didn’t say anything at the time, but I couldn’t disagree more. The residents of the state certainly own their state. We who choose to visit it are just that — visitors. Most of us do so graciously and appreciate the privilege. When it comes back, we will be grateful to do so safely.
Malama pono.
More about the unfortunate way many Hawaiians seem to feel about non-Hawaiians. I have owned a Condo on Kauai for 30 years. Over two years, my property taxes were increased by 100% in the 2000’s, while native Hawaiian property tax annual increases are limited to only 3%. My clients pay a 15% tax on their rental fees, and a 70% tax rate on car rentals. The income from these enormous taxes supplements the income from tourism itself, which is the major portion of the Hawaiian economy.
My suggestion is that the Hawaiian Government and it’s politicians should do a whole lot more to set an example by letting Hawaiians know about this and the Aloha Spirit. I’m pretty certain that these xenophobic comments and government actions (visitors being told to leave in March) are due to a small minority of citizens, but where is outcry against this from the large majority of Hawaiians?
Amen! The negative talk about the ‘disrespectful’ tourists is very disturbing.
99.9% of the tourists we have seen, especially on Kauai are good citizens who obey the laws
and enjoy the beauty of the islands.
So true,it’s why I visit Hawaii every year
Talking stink about immigrants… Illegal Immigrants would be simular to your disagreement with Tourists coming. Yet tourist contribute to your tax base. Illegal Immigrants use our infastructure, medical, police, fire and Schools and do NOT pay into the system. They take jobs from citizens. It may not be the best job but someone trying to overcome their situation should not have the competition from an illegal immigrant.
Thank you for the opportunity for this dialog.
I come to Hawaii as off season as possible. I love and respect your culture. In reading many comments I think that I am hearing there is a REAL embalance. Too many tourist to population maybe.
Hi Maxine.
Thanks.
Aloha.
These “Hi, thanks, aloha” replies didn’t really add information to the conversation.
Illegal immigrants and tourists? Really? Immigrants work harder pay taxes etc and get NO benefit from it. They take jobs YOU AND I dont want to do. See white america is too lazy to take the jobs immigrants do so to compare a fat lazy tourist coming to dump garbage, use resources etc and with an immigrant coming for work is a BS comparison.
Good people are good people regardless of their nationality or immigration status.
Good for you, why would she make a comment like above on Immigrants. Hawaii is 90% immigrants brought here by the Sugar cane and Pineapple barens. Working hard to support their families.No lazy American would work 12 hrs a day in a pineapple or sugar cane field. If they are any resentment towards tourists its thoughts like the above comment that create resentment.
You must have missed that word. “Illegal”
Mahalo Paul well said.
I am deeply disappointed by the lack of an “Aloha Spirit” on the part of so many of the politicians in Hawaii, especially on Kauai, where I have owned a home for 30 years. On Kauai, there has not been a case of CV19 for 5 weeks. Tourism, while bringing more traffic, has also brought prosperity to most of the people of Hawaii, and I find the attitude of many of it’s politicians both ungrateful and, frankly, rude.
A crises like this usually brings out the best of humanity in this type of circumstance; in this case it brings out the xenophobia and lack of appreciation for what provides for your economy from your leadership. Citizens of Kauai and Hawaii, is this really the message you want to send to the world?
Wow. We have immediate family on Kaua’i and we had to cancel our trip to see them. We’re sad, but not angry. We understand that Kaua’i wants to protect its citizens, and it would be impossible to implement a “pick and choose” system. This won’t last forever. In the grand scheme of life, it’s a bump in the road.
Aloha to you, RH.
So your saying swing the doors wide open and let 20 million visitors from around the globe to come and bring the infection back? REALLY?
I live in New York and I’ve been to Oahu 5 times .I think the idea that tourists are rude and disrespectful is a myth because I have never witnessed it.
“I think the idea that polar bears hang out on ice is a myth because I have never witnessed it”.
Hawaii values visitors ***who respect and abide by the laws***- blatant disrespect by not staying in hotel room (since there is no way to verify that you are not an active carrier) is an danger to all who come in contact with you, endangering multi generations of families living here
you will go home after infecting/spreading the virus and we have to deal with the consequences- hospitalization/death/community spread and worse- impacting the ability of the US military stationed here to respond to any global threat
people should not think ONLY about having “fun on vacation” but respect others and listen to the reasons for all laws put in place- as an example -look at how Kauai has improved- over 30 days without reported new cases, due to residents following the temporary laws put into place
keep Hawaii safe for everyone and all future generations of resident/visitors
We traveled to Hawaii for 2 weeks in February. We have traveled extensively to Europe, Africa, Central America and the Caribbean. I have never met as many rude people as we met in Maui. We talked about with other travelers and they had the same comments. Even small things like sitting at a bar at the end of happy hour, comments like “serve the locals first and the if there is time (them pointing to hotel guest), we need the discount since we live here”. To asking a question about a local restaurant, I was told “if you have to ask then you don’t live here, figure it out” Locals May have moved to heaven but they act like they are living in Hell. I will say every native Hawaiian we met was gracious and kind always with smile on their face.
We have never, we Mean Never, had an experience like that since we started going there in 2003! We have been greeted with smiles and very pleasant conversations! We Love Maui, we Love the people, we respect their culture, we always clean up after ourselves and occasionally others as well. We have always stayed in condos and in 2011, we were able to purchase one in Maalaea.
I am a longtime Hawai’i resident who moved away about a half year ago. We were moving “to” not so much as away. It was all good, leaving a place and people we loved for the new.
Things did change over the years we lived there. The local government became ever more obviously beholden to the hotel industry. The grass roots sorts of organizations that sprouted in Puna during the eruption were not as helpful to people there as they suggested they would be. And more than anything else, people allowed themselves to be made ever more antagonistic towards each other. This was apparent in the anti TMT movement and the anti vacation rental movement. All this however seemed mostly a product of troubled times, of a society worldwide being thrown into torment by divisive forces.
The attitudes surfacing now however are deeply disturbing. People I know well are coming across as anti visitor. There is nothing different about Hawai’i and visitors than there is about say the wine country and visitors. People come to a place because it is beautiful and welcoming. They come because it is exotic and because they expect to have a good time. The visitor experience is what the people of the island offer. If visitors disappoint, look to what they encounter. Look at the hawkers on Maui, for example. Pretty ugly. Look at the attitudes in Kailua. Far from welcoming, now or then. If you don’t like visitors, don’t live in the heart of one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. What can visitors expect now? And into the future?
In an ideal Hawai’i ’, there would be fewer people everywhere because travel itself is taking a big hit. Big open air eateries will thrive and offer the same great local catch they used to. Resorts will probably have concierge room service with personal shoppers from their boutiques. Prices will go up because costs of everything will go up. It is hard to envision Hawai’i as other than a rich person’s paradise in the years to come. Unless the people of Hawai’i themselves make an effort to find their aloha and ways to show it. This starts with changing the attitude that Hawai’i is too special for you. We all suffer equally from the effects of the virus. All of us suffer. Hawai’i clamped down and has almost no vi rus. And has almost no immunity. There are trade offs.
The very best solution for Hawai’i is to require a test when visitors get off the plane. If they test vi rus free they get to go on with their vacation. Forget about these expensive temperature taking machines. Way too many are asymptomatic and carriers. There will likely be no perfect tests. This is what we live with. And if there aren’t enough medical facilities (there aren’t enough doctors) address that. Don’t blame it on the visitors.
Visitors please understand the story of how our monarcy was tragically ended. But the Aloha spirit still remains with the locals and those visitor who want to share or be a part in the Aloha in this island I call my home. To malama the Aina and respect the kupuna and keiki. Follow the instructions in this time of a pan demic. If you must travel to visit Hawaii islands, be tested first before even getting on an airplane.
Mahalo..Kauai is my home land.
Yes, as a resident of Kailua, Hi for over 34 years, I and my children as well as my Husband who is a Hawaiian, have seen a change in tourism in the Islands. We totally understand that the Islands depend almost solely on tourism and accept that. However, the blame shouldn’t be on the residents here. Government and business interests here have overwhelmed the residents with tourists, tour buses, overcrowded beaches, restaurants, malls, sidewalks, roads and rentals. Our neighborhoods are being taken over by illegal short term rentals to the point that residents cannot find rentals. The oversight for same is minimal. Residents are second place to the profit the government and business interests put in their pockets. That being said, there should be a concerted effort to balance the tourism industry and the way of living of our residents, as well as relying on other industries than tourism. We, too, would like to enjoy our Islands and keep them safe ecologically, financially and economically .
I lived on the Big Island for a year and taught school at Wiamea Elementary School 20 yrs ago. I’ve never forgotten my time there. Ive always felt welcomed and everyone I met was so kind. I planned on buying a home there this year because Hawaii has always been the place I felt the most at home. So I’ll wait.. give the people and the Island a chance to move beyond this crazy time and place where we ALL find ourselves. The people of Hawaii deserve to do what they feel is best for their homeland. Let’s show them some respect, kindness, patience and a little ALOHA Spirit❤ If we can do that I’m sure they will welcome us back when the time is right.
We are on island (Kauai) for several months a year. I have often thought that the locals should be careful what they wish for, especially in recent months. I know it is not fun to have hundreds and thousands of tourists on the roads and on your beautiful beaches. But the island economy has evolved to be tourism-based. So even if you are not directly involved with tourists, it is likely that a family member or friend is. And that is their livelihood. Our experiences have been warm with aloha and we give aloha. I know many tourists can be rude and all we can do is ask them to be respectful. But don’t cut off your nose to spite your face and make those millions of tourists choose the Caribbean, or French Polynesia or Bali. You need the financial inflow.
The Hawaiian economy is based largely upon tourism, but many “locals” have forgotten that their greatly increased standard of living is due to tourism. Unfortunately, Hawaii also is a welfare state, with generous benefits for those who cannot or chose not to work. This statewide generosity is dependent on the fairly high taxes on hotel rooms, condos,
rental cars, etc, although with little given back to those who contribute -such as road repairs, walking paths, and park
improvements. This xenophobic attitude is probably due to a small percentage who don’t appreciate their good fortune, but what I haven’t heard in these statements are from the residents who should condemn these attitudes and appreciate the Aloha spirit. I’ve owned a home here for 30 years, and these attitudes are apparently the true face of many Hawaiians
You are 💯 in point 👏🏻
WOW you do realize we are in a pan demic? 100s of thousands dying world wide did it occur to you that maybe they are a bit freaked out by 20 million visitors flooding their shores right now? Hawaii had a thriving pineapple business for years but tourism knocked basically most of that out. You sound more like a xenophobe than most of the locals I have seen comment. You act as though the Hawaiian natives should bow to you and worship you since you own a house there? Really now
Precisely! Pretty insulting to hear about how grateful we should be to have millions come here (visit or transplant) and crowd us out of our paradise. Raise our living standard!? No way. Our kids can’t afford to live here because housing costs are too high. OR they have to work 2-3 jobs. Meanwhile “outsiders” come here, buy property and rent them out to tourists. Very few TVR owners are “natives” (meaning born and raised here). Yes, it’s sad that we have to depend on tourism so much, but if you were all in our shoes you’d understand that it’s simply too much. (I am 65, born and raised on 3 different islands; great grandparents worked the plantations; parents worked for shipyard and schools). 60’s, 70’s and 80’s were wonderful times.) Yes, Hawaii will suffer from this situation, but I’ll bet that it’ll be business as usual in a couple of years, unfortunately.
Understand what you’re saying, but consider what the unemployment rate would be if there were no tourists. There is no local economy outside of tourism, and even more children would be leaving for the mainland. I agree that too many tourists have spoiled paradise – but it’s still a beautiful paradise compared to most places in the world. It’s a privilege to be able to visit or live in such a wonderful place – for all of us. We just need to find the right balance between preserving the beauty and the experience and excessive tourism.
We cannot stop higher prices for homes. In Seattle, where we live, the average cost for an ordinary 3 bedroom is $900,000. Your kids, our kids, can’t afford a house because there are too many of us, not enough high paying jobs, because of the high paying high tech jobs that are dominating the job market.
The world is what it is, and we can’t turn back the clock. Instead of fighting among ourselves, let’s work together to find a solution that benefits our children, and the earth, first.
Thank you for opening this discussion. I read Beat of Hawaii religiously to keep in touch. We come to Hawaii several times a year when we are lucky enough to be able to. Our family loves the Aloha spirit and the beauty of the islands. We are respectful, puchase from local vendors and enjoy their conversations.
But it is hard sometimes to be judged before you really know me or my family. We have had many encounters on the beaches with the younger Hawaiians that clearly do not want us there. That always makes me sad. In California we have many visitors and that isn’t the way I greet them.
Having said all that we still come and look forward to making connections and sharing the Aloha spirit. Thank you
Hi Susan.
Thanks very much for being a regular reader and a first-time commentor.
Aloha.
Susan so true. This isn’t the way people on the Mainland treat our tourists. Hawaii is America after all. I suggest that these Hawaiians that don’t want us to visit that they don’t ever come to the Mainland.
I have no problem with tourists, Hawaii is awesome! I get it! But respect for the local population and the land is paramount. We often see and hear about visitors who feel they have the right to do anything they want here. Feeling entitled to Crossing barriers onto sacred lands and private lands and dangerous areas risking the lives of our first responders because they came here to spend their money and they “can do what ever they want because its the united states”. Not pono behavior. Learn all you can about the culture of Hawaii nei and think of how you would feel if someone was trampling around your backyard doing whatever they wanted and showing disrespect. Respect is huge here, come with a grateful and humble spirit no problem, say thank you to your servers and hotel staff. If you don’t know something ask a local they will be more than happy to help. It is very much like going to another country, courtesy and respect go a long way here. The culture is different but wonderful. Hawaiians are your friends not your servants. Another thing that must be considered is that many, many families live in multigenerational homes, the Kapuna (our elders) are treasured here. To come here during a pan demic putting our essential workers at risk who then have to go home to elderly parents and grandparents is not respectful. Please stay where you are until this passes. Our limited medical infrastructure cannot handle a great influx of sick people. We need to protect our families too and we are doing that by limiting visitors to the islands at this time, if that does not make sense to you then you are probably not suited to being a visitor in this particular place. Our numbers are some of the lowest because we are staying home and protecting our ohana and to see people come from hotbeds of infection and flout the rules will not be tolerated by locals or government here. We are a small place and we watch out for each other. Show us the repect that we should be given, its not just your playground but our hime.
As someone who lives in a touristy mountain town in Colorado, I understand exactly how Hawaiians feel at this time. During the summer, the sidewalks here are so crowded with tourists, it’s hard to walk and restaurants have long wait times. Roads are crowded with those who don’t understand our traffic signals and parking in non-existent. Now, with our restaurants, recreational areas and most stores still closed, we are seeing a huge influx of tourists from New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and California. We feel that just by their presence, they don’t have respect for those of us who live here. My family was supposed to vacation in Maui the first week of April but made the decision to stay home for your safety and for ours. I just hope that we can visit before the year’s postponement allowed by the landlord and the airlines is up. We promise to respect you and your beautiful island as we do our own home.
Mahalo Nui Tanya, I am a Kauai born residence and seen how things have changed through the years. But I have been taught from my parents what aloha means and passing it on still to all . Had lots of practice as a worker at the once famous Coco palms resort. Enjoyed reading your message. Our Moto I respect..Uamau ke ea oka Aina ika pono.. ke Aloha Nui.
Amen
There seems to be a fair amount of us vs them going on here.
Peoples opinions tend to describe themselves more then the people they are talking about.
Most of the residents here get along just fine. If you are one of the minority haole folks that have to
talk stink about the people that live here it’s because YOU don’t know what Hawaii is all about. Most live
here with no problems. Hawaii is a beautiful place with awesome people. Everywhere has people that are rude,
everywhere has good people too. What you find reflects on you.
Hawaii is the embodiment of the Aloha spirit. You give respect you get it back double, you don’t, you don’t.
Thats island style, even locals will call out other locals when they are not acting pono, not just white people. What you say is true, what you put in is what you get back from your time in the islands. Positive or negative.
Please stay home. We do. Its for our sake and yours.
From my own observation the past 55 years since I first came to Hawaii as a wandering surfer in 66′. The local presents was raw and unpredictable to say the least. On one hand I’d meet wonderful Hawaiian people who’d open their homes to me and share everything they had. And on the other hand I’d meet other local people that weren’t as nice. By being beat-up, discriminated for jobs, called racial slurs and other demeaning things that I wouldn’t wish on anybody. Through the 70’s I worked many jobs and started getting to know the local population more intimately. A fair amount of local family members came to depend on the tourist industry. And passed the job skills in services learned in the industry down to the next generation. After going through a few recessions the tourist industry always gets hit the hard and so do the local people working in it. The hardest thing for me to see back then were families broken up and the younger family members moving away to the mainland to find work. Yes, Hawaii for the past 10 years has been exploding with tourism and more people. But the one thing I noticed was a large number of locals stepped out and started their own small businesses which allowed family members to not move away and work for the family business. Yes, in our current situation it’s nice to see Hawaii not crowded and the roads not packed. But, there is a lot of local people who are losing their businesses and livelihood due to this shut down. The people who are screaming the loudest to keep it closed are the newer transplants who think they are speaking up for the locals. But in my opinion, the local people are a sweet, loving and quite people and don’t speak up for themselves. They want and need the tourist to return so they can save their dignity and salvage what they are so quickly losing.
Not many remember the 60’s in Hawaii. My roomates and I were camping. We had long hair. We woke up to being beaten up by locals. We had rocks thrown at our heads and had to be hospitalized. Maui has come a long way from that thankfully. I understand the fear of the unknown. I understand the fear of the Wuhan flu. I now live in a hot climate (Arizona) where most of the cases and deaths are in nursing homes. Outside of that it is pretty safe. So most businesses have reopened in the past week. Gyms are open again and so are restaurants for dine in. We stayed home for 2 months. But it has to end sometime. This is not an excuse to take away our rights and liberties. And also our hospitals and emergency rooms are empty. They always were.
Hi! My first trip to the Hawaiian Islands was incredible mostly due to the friendships that my family made with locals. My son wanted to go fishing and had never caught a fish so we went to a beach park down the road from where we were staying. Upon arrival, one of the nicest most genuine guys asked, “what are you trying to catch? ” and the rest is history. Not only did he help my son catch his first fish, but he welcomed us into his family circle. We learned so much from him. Everyone was so free to teach us about Hawaiian life and its history and way of life. The love and respect of the land is what sticks in my mind. By the end of the trip his family and friends had a barbeque on the beach in our honor! This is why our love for Hawaii and its people are so special. But, our friendship was born out of mutual respect. Which brings me to my point. I don’t think that Locals hate tourists. I think they hate disrespectful and rude behavior. But then again, who doesn’t? Personally I think it’s not worth traveling if you are unwilling to learn about the people, the culture and the history of any place you go. Ultimately it’s the people and the memories that are created that make the experience! Hawaii will always be my happy place!! Thank you!
Hawaii like so many other travel destinations has come to rely to heavily on taxes collected from tourist activities. Instead of a balance tax base with tourist, manufacturing & sustainable agriculture government leaders found it easier to tax tourist. As has been posted here the islands have been invaded by well to do transplants. The influx of well to do transplants has driven up housing costs, cost of living and property taxes to a level that is forcing out the Hawaiian people. As an unintended consequence Hawaii routinely ranks last when it comes to being business friendly. Last! So short term Hawaii will be fine, but when the government money dries up Hawaii will need to welcome back those tourist dollars or suffer the harsh reality of high unemployment, crime and finally civil unrest.
i have been a visitor to hawaii for 12 years and a resident homeowner for 4 years, now happily back on the mainland. If you scratch the surface of the island and interact with native hawaiians , there is a very deep resentment which is race based. I got very tired of hearing how the islands were stolen and the kingdom needed to be restored as if i personally was responsible.For all the islanders who wanted the white people to leave and give back the island to hawaiians this epidemic should be the answer ton their dreams.
You are correct the same thing I experienced,
Now back on the mainland. I had a restaurant
And beautiful home but I got sick of hearing
The same thing you said. I sold everything
and moved back after living on Maui. I found
Many young Hawaiian men and women for some
Reason had pent up hate for white people. I would
Always be told we took their Islands. I would
Ask them where did you learn this and they could
Never have an answer. I now will spend my
Money in Florida or the Caribbean.
Those who would say white people took their islands are lazy freeloading losers who look to blame someone for their own failures in life .
Those who would say white people took their islands are…telling the truth.
“I would Always be told we took their Islands. I would Ask them where did you learn this”
“History books” is a good starting point.