The message to upcoming Maui visitors is out, and it might just backfire.
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229 thoughts on “Maui Arrival Requirements Revealed for Visitors In 2024”
The message to upcoming Maui visitors is out, and it might just backfire.
Get Breaking Hawaii Travel News
I and my wife have been to Maui six times and only want to visit Maui. We stay in Kihei every time. We love the people and the atmosphere. We always have a great time. We are planing our next trip to Maui to celebrate our anniversary and my wife’s 80th birthday.
Businesses may want you back but most locals do not!
We are tired of being the host and not the recievers of Aloha .
Regardless of all the show respect to our healing, we are bombarded with the curious questions of visitors.
When I answer “No, we are not ready for vacationers”. The flippant response to my honest answer gets twisted in their minds. They have a comeback well We “donated!”
I just get deflated and say if you feel privileged because you made a donation, then don’t donate. It’s the arrogance of the Communicated exchange.. they want a reaction of how wonderful you are.
We are thankful for people reaching out and donations.If you give with an open heart, then we don’t need snide remarks of your expectations.
My husband and I have been going to Maui for over 20 years. 11 years ago we purchased what we thought was going to be a retirement home. Unfortunately, we lost our home at Ho’onanea and the best renter ever. We will rebuild and our renter is on board with us. I am very sad that people feel the need to tear down the people of Lahaina and to think this disaster is the same as another, it’s an island, things do not happen quickly. We will be returning 1/19-1/26 and will support the local economy as much as we can. It’s expensive everywhere, if you don’t want to spend the money, please go somewhere else.
My family and I will be traveling to Maui 1/19-1/26/24, we would like to visit the Cat Sanctuary on Lanai, are their still boats from the Lahaina Harbor going to Lanai or have those be rerouted to another marina?
Maalaea Small Boat Harbor has been cleared of ash and debris to accommodate the Maui-Lanai Ferry
The Lanaʻi Ferry is currently running 2 round-trip voyages per day, 7 days per week, out of Maalaea Harbor in Central Maui.
I visited a family member on Maui around Thanksgiving. The worst behavior I observed was by a group of people who appeared to be locals who set up a party/get together on a weekend at the local park and beach, played a boom box so loud all day that you couldn’t avoid the booming racket even far away down the beach and in the water, and illegally parked a huge pickup, blocking the park entrance. This rude, thoughtless, and aggressive behavior comes to mind every time I read about some Hawaiian government official lecturing would be tourists about having the correct, respectful, reverent attitude towards others.
After the Lahaina fire, we will respectfully hold off on going back for at least one or two years. We visited in January 2023 for a destination wedding and visited Lahaina and will wait until it has healed.
It is very difficult to imagine the devastation that happened and to try to vacation there.
Aloha Gents,
Boy, you guys sure pressed “The BIG Red Button” on this post. Point of confusion though; Hawaii has been overcrowded for a long time. Did the HTA create the overcrowding? No? Then what exactly have they been doing? I suggest there has not been a need for the HTA to do anything except collect large pay checks. Obviously anybody that can operate a keyboard knows how to get to Hawaii. Advertising is not necessary. So, what is the HTA tasked with doing now? I recently read here that the government wanted to increase tourism while reducing accommodation. Great. In stumbles the HTA to justify their existence. It looks like they’ve offended most folks that have been exposed to their message so far. A polished act indeed.
Mahalo
Despite one frequent mutli-comment person stating the Maui toxic waste “. . . must find its new “home” on ships and barges to a yet unknown destination” the County of Maui is investigating and working on other immediate plans including already building a “temporary” landfill adjacent to what may become the permanent landfill.
civilbeat.org/2023/12/maui-starts-building-temporary-landfill-for-wildfire-ash-and-debris-despite-public-concerns/?mc_cid=b1e1b35d03&mc_eid=74edbdf4d4
If you had read the article in full, you would have discovered that the cost of passing EPA muster would almost equal the cost of shipping. Olowalu, if you know the area, is just a bit above the coastal water line. Any serious effort to dig, prepare, and shield the area from leakage would approach multi-billions of dollars. Add the time element involved to plan, apply for and approve a permanent site would add to the delays in infrastructure.
That is a Temporary site so that Lahaina’s toxic waste can await a more permanent solution.
Ironically, I believe this message will discourage the tourists who honor Hawaii’s culture and be ignored by the rest. I have been coming to Hawaii for over 30 years and believe I fully respect the culture and the people. I am going to give Maui a miss, not wishing to inadvertently give offense. What put me over the edge was an article about a Maui resident reaming out his seatmates for taking a picture from the window of a departing plane.
I think maybe I will find some other volcanic hellhole for my next vacation with a lot fewer tourists.
You could try Iceland, the lava and ice.
Just returned to Michigan from 8 day trip to Maui. Enjoyed halaleakea sunrise. Ecotours whale watching, Road to hana,molokini crater snorkel and turtle scuba dive, kayak fishing, mama’s fish house. Honeybee farm tour, and iao valley. Found maui peaceful and inviting. We hope we visited respectfully and would love to return . Mahalo!
I love Maui and always will. Lahaina is a tragedy and nearly five months later its collective government seems incapable of a strategic plan for residents.
Maui, Hawaii, locals and tourists are not the problem. Too broad a paintbrush like any other generalization.
Culprits begin in the insatiable greed of hotel, airline, rental, food service, and, yes, government systems. These institutions that regulate and operate tourist-based functions know that tourism is a very deep pocket.
Lots of ways to get that money and local residents survive as best they can.
I won’t be back…too expensive. I hope Maui (and Hawaii) can survive the pillaging.
After 35 years of vacationing in Maui I think we have likely made our last trip to our “previously” favorite vacation destination. IT was not the usual 2 to 4 weeks of relaxing Bliss that we have enjoyed for years. Prices are now in the “rip off” category. $70 dollars for a lunch of hamburgers and milk shakes is outrageous. $350 per week for a rental car is excessive. The $70 tax added to my car rental is unacceptable. The service people we encountered were helpful, pleasant, and polite. However their demeanor does not out outweigh the many negative aspects of our trip. So, after 35 years, I am not returning to Maui any time soon.
Everything is more expensive everywhere but in Hawaii I also felt the over the top rip-off level.
Bill, we were scheduled to visit Maui for the first time, just 9 days before the devastating fire. Our trip (family of 3) was pushed to this month. We were unable to push it out further. I am very sad to read your comment, as you have been for 35yrs., and feel this was your last trip. Besides the uprising costs of everything(we were expecting this), could you please share your further negative experiences, but also any positives that you still enjoyed? We leave in less than a week, and I am hoping that we can still enjoy our bucket list trip we have planned for 7 yrs). Thanks so much!
My wife and I have visited Hawaii many times in the last 20 years. We last visited in September 2023. People were friendly, but we felt that we were being price gouged on almost everything. Until Hawaii gets it act together, we will start vacating in Europe and other places.
We vacation in Maui for 3 weeks every March/April. It is often the highlight of our annual travels to various places. While the fire in August 2022 has destroyed Lahina, and we will miss visiting the town, we are still looking forward to a relaxing 3 week stay in the Ka’anapali area. Hopefully, the residents will be welcoming and friendly.
The past few years we would stay 2 to 3 weeks (Timeshare plus hotel).
We will only be there a week and will be spending the other 2 weeks elsewhere.
We only have respect for the island and the people of Maui.
Does anyone know if Maui has a plan in place to remove the non native wild grass that so much fumed the fires?
Or, are they just focusing on how tourists should behave?
If Maui had not allowed Oprah Winfrey to buy 1000 acres, Willie Nelson 700 acres ( at least he uses it to rescue horses), Jeff Bezos 14 acres, Larry Ellison 90,000 acres and that is Not a typo, Woody Harrelson 8.5 acres, just to name a few to buy up gross amounts of land there would be more land for Maui locals to live on. Then there would not be this predicament now.
Also, to help the locals who lost their homes in the fires, these people who own these gross amounts of land should have to open it up to the locals before the govt forces the individual who owns a small vacation rental property to those who lost their homes in the fires.
No offense but the land these Billionaires purchased is not the reason there is a housing issue.
As far as Oprah her land was a ranch, there is not the infrastructure to just plop houses there. Feel free to blame the rich, but it is the lack of a master plan for the island and it’s development.
Agreed… there is plenty of land that could be developed, they are just resistant to development (understandable to some extent) and it is now causing a real issue for them.
(Not a Bezos fan but worth sharing) The lieutenant governor thanked the Bezos Academy for taking a chance on Hawaiʻi with its Montessori-inspired preschool for low-income families. “What Bezos is offering is so unique because it is free of cost for every family that will be sending their kids to the preschool… What this academy will do is not only provide lunch services—it provides breakfast, lunch, snack and a take-home dinner so that the child will have a healthy, warm meal throughout the entire day,” said Lt. Gov. Luke.
I agree with your statement. The problem is the locals keep voting the same type people back into office expecting a different outcome .
I can understand both sides of the aisle.
I have been to Maui a handful of times in the past five years. There are some really rude tourists and some really polite ones. There are some really nice residents and not nice ones.
If I lived there, I would be upset with the cost of housing and living there also. That does not have to do with the individual tourists itself, but the greedy politicians. The beef is with them.
Maui is sending so many mixed arrogant messages to would be tourists and to those that have travelled their before
Now they are spending $900,000 to promote Canadian tourists, they say Canadians are the most respectful tourists. What does that say about anyone who does not come from Canada. What a slap in the face!
Been going to Maui since 1985. Was married there. I want to go, I don’t want to go. So I will probably go June ’24. Depending on what the experience is will determine whether I ever go back. Other people have gone through trauma and disasters also, they are not the only ones.
P.S. 4 million visitors to the small area I’m from, last summer.
Teresa, I have been thinking the same thing.
So many people and towns have gone thru terrible disasters and death due to them for centuries.
Maui seems to be milking it.
It is beginning to rather frustrate me.
@TomH… As a Lahaina resident and a displaced fire victim who has moved from hotel to hotel, 8 times since August 8, 2023, I find your posts extremely disrespectful. You are exactly the type of visitor who isn’t welcome on Maui and I hope you find other destinations to disrespect. Florida may be a great match for your personality.
Maui needs visitors to return as quickly as possible. However, if you think any of the 7,000 displaced residents are “milking the system,” please stay away. We welcome visitors who are respectful to people who have lost everything, including loved ones. @TomH is a perfect example of the type of visitor who should visit elsewhere. Mahalo!
We are traveling to Maui in February. We are frequent Hawaii visitors, and have always been respectful to the land and its people. We will still continue to visit as tourists. Because the rest of the world moves on. It doesn’t stop for a disaster. We had family experience similar losses during CA wine country wildfires. The world didn’t stop, and visitors were still welcomed. Trying to sound like a realist and not insensitive, but at some point, Maui needs to count it’s losses, pick up the pieces, and stop expecting the rest of the world to walk on eggshells for them. They need the tourism. Because the money isn’t going to magically come once the fundraising stops (my 5yo daughter raised over $500 for Maui).
I’m sure everyone has a favorite island in the state. I spent a week on Maui once and it was certainly nice enough, and someday I may go back, but it’s not my favorite.
What is the bottom line with all of this? It’s about quality of life. Specifically for the people who live full-time in Hawaii. Sadly, though, going all in with tourism as a one-trick pony simply doesn’t work. It hasn’t worked for years. Everyone knew that a wreck was coming ahead, but did nothing substantial to steer Hawaii down a different path & diversify. The tourism money was & still is low-hanging fruit. It’s just too easy & tempting to pass up. This is short-lived. The evidence is in. If a change doesn’t occur soon, the bad tourism sentiment will only get worse. To my point, if an animal’s leg is caught in a trap, it would rather chew it off, than die there. Many of the local people of Hawaii feel that way about tourism.
Last year trip to Maui included buying four cookies at the airport. They rang up for $8.00.
I’ll spend my money elsewhere in the future.
Not volunteering out of guilt. Doing it because Maui has been my beloved respite from Midwest winters for nearly 20 years, because I want to return some of the kindness that’s been shown to me, and because people who have lost everything may be strengthened by the concern of a stranger.
Our first visit to Maui was in 2017 for our 35th wedding anniversary. We stayed at Napili Kia Beach Resort and fell in love with Lahaina. We, also, made the same trip in 2022 for our 50th wedding anniversary, but this time we had another reason to visit. My son and his family had moved to Maui in 2021. We are planning another visit on Feb. 29th. This time, we are staying at the Sugar Beach Resort, which is closer to Wailuku, where my son lives. Not all visitors are just tourists. Wherever we go, we treat the locals with the utmost respect and have never had to be told to do so. Still looking forward to our visit with our grandkids. We will do what we have to do. Sincerely and with great respect!
Maui is my hometown but now live in Las Vegas and work for a major hotel. Upon getting hired and every year after we go through training emphasizing how important every person staying at the hotel is. We are given meal vouchers to give out to anyone who comes to our property who we feel has an unhappy experience. This includes people not staying at the hotel. So to make it short stop complaining and see the big picture.
I personally have no desire to vacation or visit a place that requires me to volunteer and be preached to about things when I vacation. If other people have guilt about things there could be a reason for this guilt , but you’re barking up the wrong tree in my regards .
Hawaii visitors bureau and Maui visitors Bureau are still promoting to visit Lahaina town sites , restaurants and historic buildings and areas that all burn down.
The fire disaster was 4 1)2 months ago.
No one is mentioning that kaanapali area has had 5 fires and 2 evacuations since August. From Kihei, kahului to Kula Maui has had more fires. The highway to Hana is having landslides across the road and power failure.
Maui really has a lot of infrastructure to add, emergency training, shoreline parks to reopen their restrooms & showers, evacuation roads to be built and fire hazards to be fixed, before it becomes a travel destination again.
Especially when charging first class prices!
Once again I say change who you vote for in the next election. Try it. It can’t be any worse. One party rule does not work. Hawaii is a perfect example.
I spent 2 weeks in Kehei, Maui in November 2023. It was my 25th vacation to Hawaii, my first being In Honokawai, Maui in 1973. I was 14 years old that first trip and I thought Hawaii was Heaven. Even as a tourist visiting , I have often felt sorry for the Hawaiian residents having to deal with the love/hate infiltration of the vacationers. Respect always.
Everyone knows about the horrific fire. It’s offensive and ridiculous that people would have to pledge or be told to be respectful and compassionate before traveling to Maui.
I have no desire to return to Maui. It was over-crowded 15 years ago.
Thank you.
I hope you return to Maui once it gets some safety, the tourists houses shut down , and some roads, fire breaks plowed and evacuation roads built.
The Hawaii Tourism Market has always been near & dear to my heart.
I grew up understanding the huge impact it has on our local economy, but even more than that, (most importantly), understanding the impact the history & uniqueness of our islands can have on the visitor experience!
Until we put our focus on the quality of that experience, from the time they step off that plane, until the time they reluctantly, with tears in their eyes, board the plane,ship to return home, I truly believe we will continue to see a decline in this vital industry.
Homelessness, hostility, lack of customer service & goodwill. Somewhere along the way, Aloha got thrown out with the bathwater.
We have to do better or diversify, period. Me ke Aloha pumehana.
IslandBuzzy,
Right On!!!
Well Said!!!
Thanks for putting everything in perspective and context.
Mahalo nui and much Aloha to you!
As I read these comments and balance them with my actual experiences in Hawaii, I think what is being posted regarding anti tourism is a concerted effort by a small group to make visitors feel unwelcome. I suspect this small group is making as much noise as possible on every platform at their disposal.
As I have mentioned before, what doesn’t make sense to me and is harder to rationalize is the negativity from the government and HTA. There is no doubt that tourism is a double edged sword, but the government, HTA and the small group of vocal locals are going about this the wrong way.
As much as this negativity from a small group online is annoying, it does not deter me from visiting and I plan to visit for years to come.
What do you think of this travelers assessment ofKauai vs Maui?
msn.com/en-us/travel/news/is-kauai-the-new-maui/ar-AA1meVGy?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=d59f256468db4c5faf5272e993381089&ei=27
My husband and I just returned from our yearly vacation in Maui. We were there dec 5th -11th. I will say this we will not be going back!! We are always respectful and this trip we stayed away from West Maui with the exception of going to our favorite ice cream shop. No matter where we went we were treated terribly!! Even the cleaners of where we stayed tried to lie about how clean we left the condo we stayed in. Luckily for us I always take pictures and video of before and after for our own protection. Everyone was so rude. The aloha is gone and it breaks my heart.
We continue to get mixed messages. Our plan is to try to do some volunteer work if available. We have been coming to Maui since 1978 and continuously since 1990 for a two week visit. We understand that not all visitors are welcomed. I’m not sure what you are telling visitors. We come to support Maui. We donated to Maui Strong. What would you like us to do? John C
As a survivor of 2018 Campfire that wiped Paradise California off the map, I can tell you what Lahaina victims have to look forward too.
After 5 years less then 25 percent of Paradise has been rebuilt, it took over 2 years just to remove toxic material, insurance claims will take years to get paid, building permits will be very difficult to come by, contractors will work for highest cash bidder, electric company will declare BK and government will not take responsibility for fire.
Plus we didn’t have to deal with indigenous population claims to stolen land.
On social media locals are now threatening individuals who are looking to rent a str condo and they’re threatening str owners to convert to long term.
From experience you understand that there is no simple fix for recovery. That slow return to Paradise (forgive the irony) can be multiplied on Maui. Maui’s toxic waste has no caves, salt mines nor vast wastelands. It must find its new “home” on ships and barges to a yet unknown destination.
What you are observing on social media is the venting of frustrations from those who now face the terrible decision of living each day not knowing where they will be the next or leaving the place that has been home for an unknown future.
Your recounting of your experience hopefully will instruct others who are primarily concerned about their next vacation.
Where does the legal authority come from to hinder the lawful travel of US citizens? Creating unlawful hindrance to travel will result in lawsuits and tourists avoiding the island. The requirements described in this article are not legal in the USA for citizens.
What are the illegal travel requirements you claim are in the article? I only read about HTA officials hoping tourists are respectful. Hoping people act appropriately is not illegal. And many would argue it’s actually not doing anything (and they would be right). Look at the baby whale harasser in the news. She broke the law and still won’t be punished. If pleas for respectful behavior offend you, maybe you should travel somewhere more aligned with your values.
Hi Amber… did you not notice the glaring (and I believe, illegal) red flag?!? The word, “requirements.”
Authoratianism is not how we do things in the USA.
There’s a world of difference between please we strongly suggest/hope you do XYZ, and “let me see your pay-puz!!” AKA “requirements.”
You made your case earlier in this thread for your Libertarian ideals. What Amber was rebutting had nothing to do with please and thank you. She was simply and plainly pointing to the fact that no one is denied travel to Hawaii.
What you were referring to was Gov. Green’s careful, staged request that if mostly absentee landlords refused to shift from vacation rental status to long-term, then Hawaii would require those to be temporarily shifted. The proposed rule would offer property owners stipends from the state, tax breaks and a rate of $5,000 (1bd) to $10,000 (3bd). Does that sound like authoritarianism. Have a little pono and check your kuleana.
We have a vacation planned in Maui in July. We’re bringing 3 family members who have hardly traveled from their homes. We plan to enjoy what nature we can find and each other’s company. By this information should we avoid most typical public areas and keep to ourselves? Linda B
Maui leaders are lucky that Maui is so darn beautiful. They are trying their hardest to make me not go back. I keep telling myself to just go somewhere else where I am wanted without qualification. But when it comes down to it, I love Maui too much. I will go back despite their efforts and I will behave as I always have (which is always respectful). Maybe I can wean myself away to Kauai, which I love but not quite as much.
Tourism made your Island. I love Maui, all of it, been there over 30 times. I brag about it. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot.