What readers are saying about the proposed new visitor fees in Hawaii.
76 thoughts on “Kauai Joins Maui On Visitor Fees: Backlash + Where’s The Money Going?”
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Home » Blog » Hawaii Travel Tips » Kauai Joins Maui On Visitor Fees: Backlash + Where’s The Money Going?
So currently we tourists pay, at minimum:
Rental car concession Fee: 11.11%
Rental Motor Vehicle Surcharge Tax: $5/day
Vehicle license fee: $0.35 to $1.45/day
State Excise tax: 4.166%
Transient accommodations tax:10.25%-14.96%
(open ended as each island can add up to 3% more.
State sales tax: up to 4.5% Kauai is 4.712%
And now Gov.Ige has proposed a new 2-cents-per-ounce tax on soda and other sugary drinks.
My numbers might be dated but I think the point is valid. As much as we love Hawaii, I’m seeing better value on a Caribbean cruise.
Maybe US tourists should boycott Hawaii, there are plenty of beautiful tropical vacation destinations with all inclusive resorts, making travel much more reasonable….
As a more respectful tourist I can say many tourists are disrespectful and sometimes just so ignorant they don’t even know they are being disrespectful.
Some tourists are super chill and help clean up after those other tourists.
This is an over reaction to opening up. It was obvious this would happen so why come out with this nonsense? What will happen when spending goes back down after the initial opening??
Will they just keep these fees forever.
I spend a lot of time in Hana and indeed people park and drive like tools.
IMO I see people litter and trample the land for amazing photos and visuals through ignorance and selfishness/pleasure. It is not always about you and your desires.
I would add I never trust government to actually responsibly allocate funds so that money may never actually go to were it is promised.
One day soon I will have my own place out here and be able to live a simple but enjoyable life 🙂
Perhaps Hawai’i should build a sustainable economy within it’s own industries so the islands don’t rely on tourism. I read and heard a lot of talk during covid but seems as if they were just waiting for it to be over to bring back the disrespectful people traveling from around the world. When you build an economy around tourism unfortunately it’s no surprise that’s what you’re going to get. But locals blame tourists when they should be blaming the government and the s**t corporations taking advantage of the land instead of preserving it (backed by the government). Build an economy around the locals so they can afford where they’re from, pay a living wage, and for the love of Hawai’i start thinking of the people within instead of the outsiders that see Hawaii as a party zone or those who use Hawai’i as a personal piggy bank when it should be redistributed within Hawai’i and it’s people – I’m an outsider but a respectful one who has love for Hawai’i and it’s people.
The shame of it all is that the local government officials welcomed the big money interests without properly planning for the increase in tourism and how to manage the influx of visitors. As a result, the existing circumstances are the outcome of the money driven actions of those we expected to make good decisions on behalf of the local residents and the tourists who visit the islands.
I have been visiting the islands annually for 25 years and am used to paying the very high time share fees due to very high property taxes and the costs of maintaining real estate in the damp climate, the high cost of food and gas, the high costs of activities, dining out, etc. In addition, we now pay a “resort” fee per day to the state of Hawaii to use our timeshares. Since abandoning their culture, agriculture, and all industries other than tourism, Hawaii has changed greatly. Not for the better. So now more added fees, inconveniences, restrictions, etc. are headed our way if we want to use those Hawaii timeshares. At some point, it will be time to bid farewell to the islands which are not the islands I fell in love with decades ago. So Sad.
The Kihei trolley (hop-on-hop-off) is great idea, and if free, even better!
Heck, I’d even use it and I live in N.Kihei.
I don’t have a problem with user fees for specific locations , parks or facilities but not for blanket fees for all visitors . I like that Kauai is still beautifully undeveloped, and that parts of Maui are still non developed yet, but the islands have allowed the rampant expansion of accommodations without an accompanying increase in infrastructure to keep up with it. Covid has pointed out that Hawaii is still a long, crowded, masked flight away and mainland US is a lot closer and cheaper, varied and beautiful. If Hawaii doesn’t want me to come back every year it is ok with me. 49 closer located US states are eager for me to visit, and are being more welcoming . Europe is just as appealing for me to visit, and from the East Coast, it is a lot closer….. and for my travel dollars a better value right now.
We love Kaua’i and would not mind paying some sort of “impact” fee as long as it goes towards improving the infrastructure for the beach parks, parking improvements, restroom improvements, etc. As much as we love it there, it’s hard to ignore the absolutely horrid condition of most of the park restrooms. Maui seems to have a much better handle on their beach park maintenance than Kaua’i does.
Aloha, BOH!
Hi Ed.
Thanks for your input on this important subject!
Aloha.
We have been going to Hawaii since the early 90s and, other than Lahaina, roads have not been improved. The volume of tourism could throttle itself. It’s been crazy busy for a few months. Give it time to right itself after the overreaction to Covid