Fodor’s came out swinging against 2023 Maui vacations today. This comes as the island was deluged with post-pandemic revenge travel starting last year. At one point, the mayor asked airlines to cut back on Maui flights, which he has no authority to enforce and the airlines have no intention of doing.
The seemingly well-meaning No-List Article sets out to make visitors more aware of some locations suffering the most from excessive tourism. In addition, it broke the issues into three areas, including “Natural attractions that could use a break in order to heal and rejuvenate; cultural hotspots that are plagued with overcrowding and resource depletion; and locations around the world immediately and dramatically impacted by water crises.”
Maui suffers from beach erosion, drought, water rights, and more.
Maui was mentioned as an area impacted by water crises for these problems. Some Maui residents have had conservation orders to avoid non-essential water usage. However, these weren’t implemented uniformly, and some of the most affluent areas of South Maui, for example, had no such limitations.
Accessing freshwater can often be challenging for island residents. In Hawaii, it says, “Tourism… accounts for the biggest usage of water. One particularly striking case is Maui… The disparity in water distribution is leading to conflicts between the hospitality industry and household users. — Fodor’s
Also mentioned was that Native Hawaiians are impacted by the rapidly increasing cost of living, especially housing. Short-term rentals are mentioned as being in part to blame for Maui’s homeless problems.
The article says that visitors should do as they want; “This year’s No List does not serve as a boycott, ban, or cancelation of any sort; but a call to travelers to consider wisely the choices we make.”
Critical Maui beach erosion.
Not mentioned as part of Fodor’s take but worthy of mention is Maui’s critical beach erosion. Last fall, for example, following high tide, trees fell, and a sidewalk collapsed and fell into the ocean at Kaanapali Beach. This area is suffering following 40 years of continuous beach erosion. The State recently found that the erosion’s severity has increased with sea level rise and record high water levels, which will get worse from here.
The impact of climate change has pushed the shoreline to the location of hotels and condos.
Right now is literally the time when it’s most affordable and easiest for us to get engaged in managed retreat. Figuring that out is a problem, but we’re not the only community in the world that has this issue. Literally, every coastal community does.” — Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources.
The state is developing plans to provide more time before yet bigger changes ahead. Recently, the state brought about 75k cubic yards of sand to that area, which is like a band-aid. The state said it will “restore coastal sandy habitat that extends across the terrestrial/marine boundary for immediate short-term remediation.”
Unfortunately, the long-term effects of similar shoreline projects are transitory. Research from California and Australia on beach “nourishment” indicates a negative impact on the invertebrates populations of such areas.
We said previously, “Throughout the State, many beachfront properties have employed seawalls to both hold back the waves and expand the footprint of useable land right up to the waterline. Such stop-gap measures are expensive, detrimental to shorelines, and ultimately ineffective. Natural beaches move and shift with the seasons and weather, with the sand being naturally replenished through wave action bringing sand onto the shore and by natural erosion from the shore itself.”
My husband and I booked a 20 year anniversary vacation to West Maui in October. Can we reschedule for another time? So far we have not heard back from our resort hotel. Any info will be appreciated.
We were booked to stay within a half mile of Lahaina.
Hi Kathy.
We’ve shared all the current information. It is too soon to know, but in the next couple of weeks, more will be revealed. You can probably make a better informed decision then.
Aloha.
I mean no offense when I say this, but you are the kind of person that gives us “outsiders” a bad name and a reason for locals to complain about us. There is an absolute trajedy happening there right now and look at you…. “me, me, me”. Who cares about your anniversary, lives were lost, not just in death, but many ways, but hey, lets hope you get to go to your anniversary vacation.
Steve, you may be expecting too much out of people….
Let me relate to you my experiences yesterday that may help you make a decision regarding your upcoming visit. Yesterday I joined a team of healthcare workers from Kahului and travelled to to Lahaina to provide medical care to residents of West Maui. There were approximately 12 of us, split up into two groups, doctors, nurses and pharmacists. I was in the Gateway Center, which is in Lahaina, but was not touched by the fire. Just across the street in cordoned off areas I could see the devastation. I could smell it too. It is truly more horrific than anything anyone could imagine just from looking at drone footage on TV. Altogether we saw about 75 patients, the majority of which live in the vicinity of Lahaina and to the north along the western coast. As I treated these patients I listened to their stories. Their situation on the west side is dire. Many of them did not have running water or if they did it was not safe to drink. Most of them were just now getting electricity. Transportation was difficult due to road closures. Many were having to sit in cars for hours as they waited in drive-through lanes to pick up donated essential items. Most, if not all of the hotels are closed to visitors and are being used to house the refugees from the fire. The dead are still being found among the rubble. If you do come please consider volunteering rather than recreating. West Maui is no longer a vacation paradise. It will again be, but not now. Mahalo.
Hi Eldo.
Thank you for all that you are doing and for generously sharing your knowledge here.
Aloha.
I really appreciate this first step in encouraging responsible tourism. I’d love to know more ways to heal and reduce harm to sensitive Hawaiian ecosystems,human and otherwise. Volunteerism is my love language: how can I speak it on my much anticipated first trip to Kauai? Mahalo.
Thank you Good information. We don’t stop to consider the damage we do to other communities when we are on vacation
Then I guess you should blame any Hawaiian resident that is even the slightest over weight for your homeless population…
So sad to hear about tourist problems. Maybe restrict access like Hanauma Bay? Kinda hard to do with a fully accessable beach.
Old. Very old BS I’ve been wintering for over 50 years on keavakapoo Beach (so maui)
Have witnessed 2 big storms and tree damage.
The Hawaiian government was in collusion with big business, allowing Marriott to build two more big timeshare buildings in place of tennis courts,allowing Hyatt to build a big timeshare building, and Westin to build two more timeshare buildings. All of these are part of Kaanapali Beach. Maui was for sale.
Exactly! Supporting big out of town development, while banning short term rentals which local mom and pops could use to build wealth. Shame.
Yeah, and now after the Lahaina fire, that whole part of the island is now in chaos with no power or water, and took a very long time to evacuate the visitors. I think the Hawaiian spirts are sending a message.
Spoken by an entitled tourist!
Spoken by someone living there that apparently has money. Homelessness is the biggest problem plaguing Maui, not tourism. Way to look out for your fellow Hawaiians.
We just came back from Kehei, Maui and the tourist have more then doubled since my last visit.
Would Love to live there instead of visiting.
The best thing you can do is do what You want to do. Be respectful of the land and reefs, but who cares if you are doing tourist things? What these Maui residents complaining don’t realize, is that Many other people in the US live in ‘tourist’ destinations, as well. They need to get over it, there are respectful and disrespectful people visiting everywhere, not just Maui.
As I said in another comment I made here, just don’t be shocked by the staggering amount of homeless you will see. It is very sad, and should be the focus of residents, not tourism.