Maui has great resorts and an improved airport with the most flights (including widebody) to Hawaii other than Honolulu. But now it has clearly become too much of a good thing. So what happens next?
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306 thoughts on “Maui Visitors and Residents Square Off Starting Here”
My place is right across the street from Kamaole and I fully expect that cars will be parked in our parking space by those trying to avoid paying for parking
No more Maui for me!
As a person who does not have endless amounts of money I have visited Maui and feel that $30 is steep and it may make people want to stay longer making it harder for others to visit the area. And it may also lesson the number of areas visited which also affects income to the areas. Lodging is already high along with food and drink because of inflation. The middle class, will not have any money left to spend in small shops etc. And the frequency of visits less. In my opinion $10 to 15 is reasonable and limits on parking time. 2 hr $15 Want to stay another 2 hr add $15 and so on. After 2 to 4 hours you will have plenty of ocean and sun. Others would like to visit beaches too.
The comment that if you can afford to come to Maui, then $30 a day for parking is no biggie is laughable. $30 is exorbitant. We go to the listed beaches most days when visiting. Thus, we will pay between $240 and $300. We love Hawaii but are not wealthy. With the price of everything going up, the hurt is cumulative. Soon it just isn’t fun or worth it.
Aloha BOH Bro’s
What you’re witnessing is the “Gentrification” of Maui.
Most Maui housing is being purchased by upper middle class Americans and most new businesses cater to them and tourist.
As older residents of Maui pass away their families ether cannot afford to take over existing property or chose to cash out dividing the spoils of sold property among inheritors.
It’s game over for Hawaiians on Maui.
If they choose to cash out, whose fault is that? The tourists?
…”Square off”?
Interesting negative connotation to chose in context of the concern being expressed.
Remember many of us are owners in Hawaii. Fees are to high. When we car pool at one of the park with 4 people would be a $50 fee. Payed parking is already In place in Lahaina. What about shuttle services from resorts? Also we were told there will be a moratorium on new resorts to control the amount of visitors in the area.
Are these charges for the beach parking in Maui already happening? My wife and I are planning our first visit to Maui next month.
No, these ideas are still in the country council which moves rather slowly. I doubt it will be implemented as law within the next 4 months, probably longer.
The problem needs to be looked at in its entirety. Hawaii is placing bandaids on it. We need to be looking at how much tourism can hawaii safely support and build up the infrastructure to maintain it. Where has all the money gone for infrastructure? Where are plans that residents can speak to. I think the local hotels need to invest in electric shuttle services to bring people back and forth to the beaches and or destination spots and return them to the hotels. That way people are free to go and come as they please and more people can take advantage of the sights. This would be better for the environment but not good for car rentals or tax revenue. But the economy needs to be diversified and long term investment in rentalcarsisnotsustainabl
You have it backwards – rather than building up infrastructure to meet tourism demand, we should be throttling back tourism to match existing infrastructure. We are a small island and our quality of life is being impacted by turning this place into Disneyland. It is not a theme park of beaches, it is our home. Let us keep our community. Don’t come here unless you will respect our home and how we want to live. Mahalo and aloha.
How do you “throttle it back” as it were. People are still going to come unless things get so expensive you price out the middle class visitor and make it only affordable for the well to do.
It seems HI leadership wouldn’t want to do that as it would cause a drop in revenue.
Respect, that’s what you call trashing out the island with abandoned cars. Tourists aren’t doing that. Fishing and leaving trash everywhere thats a local problem. 100s of millions in taxes every year go towards what? All the extra tax that is put on rental cars, who is pocketing that. Maybe Hawaii residents should pay more for rooms and parking in Vegas. If you can afford to to go then it shouldn’t matter. This my home after all not Disney World.
A search online and friends who live in Vegas tell me there are discounts at many attractions, shows, casinos for local residents. Hawaii doesn’t want to just charge those from Vegas extra so why would Vegas only charge people from Hawaii? That doesn’t make sense. And yep people have been forced live on the streets because others have bought up all the housing for short term rentals or high priced long term rentals. People have turned to crime. retty sure there’s a similar situation in Vegas, local people trash it there too. Doesn’t mean we still shouldn’t charge visitors more for coming to our state when we can’t afford anything here anymore either. Our government is corrupt, it’s not a secret. We don’t know where the money goes either.
Parking should b free for kamaaina, whether maui county, or hawaii county. As residents we all face the same problems no matter what island.
I live in So Cal A trip to Huntington or Newport Beach requires a parking fee for everybody who uses the beach. Why should Maui residents be treated so special. They choose to live in a very expensive zip code Enough slamming on the tourists
Do not enter please. Thank you.
Well you definitely don’t have the aloha spirit.
I’m sure you respect our cities when you come out with that attitude
In the past few years tourism has gotten out of control, along with people from other states buying out the properties for investment. While this is only a bandaid to the problem, it’s at least something. I read comments from people who own properties (some even are short term rentals!) and they think they should be entitled to everything on Maui. It is appalling that residents are stating that they can’t even go to places like Lahaina or Paia or to many beach parks because they are overcrowded and people who live out of state complain because they think their taxes paid on their investment property should give them a free pass. Many residents can’t afford rent let alone to buy a second property they can rent out for profits.
Think about the following:Ultimately after 1000 plus residences,/apartments are constructed close to Wailea, Maui’s roads and infrastructure for many will be unbearable.
The traffic just “sits now, during peak hours on Piilani highway.
Might we end up with parking lots serviced by beach shuttles in order to enjoy our beaches?
That is where we are headed!
My family will not be returning to Hawaii. A tax is a tax is a tax. Another bureaurcracy is born and will result in more state employee’s being paid way to much money and huge retirement obligations.
This is a tough one, I understand the feelings of locals. But, not all of us that come to Maui are as rich as the locals think. We don’t all have unlimited funds. Alot of us save up for many years in order to come to the Islands and in a 10 day to two week visit, that much for parking can add up fast.If you are going to have paid parking are you also going to have lot security?
As a visitor from a state that suffers from over infestation of tourism in our parks…. I say, it’s really great plan. Generate revenue for upkeep. Save the reefs!
We scrimp and save to come to Maui and will not pay extra for parking.
There are plenty of other vacation sites to visit. It is becoming evident that Maui does not want visitors as they must have enough money without us here.
Shame to see all the homelessness here. We can stay home to see this.
Love Hawaii, will not continue to feel unwelcome
Managing tourism with parking fees, and reservation systems are band-aids. They don’t deal with the real problem of “Over-Tourism.” There simply are too many visitors. We need to find a way to limit the amount of people coming here. Limiting rental cars; strict enforcement of illegal vacation rentals; heavy taxes for legal vacation rentals to encourage them to be converted to long-term rentals for residents; no public funds to advertise Hawaii tourism…………and anything else to limit tourism.
Good idea, stop tourists and build up your other major industry…oh wait you don’t have one! Better carry on gouging tourists just stop whining about it.
What do Mauians think will happen at parking lots (eg. shopping areas) close to paid beach parking? Everyone is going to be looking for free parking and that means shopping area lots. This whole issue is creating a toxic mentality that tourists are inherently bad. Like it or not, tourism is Hawaii’s main income source, but for most of us, our pockets are not bottomless and forcing us to pay extortionate fees for a trip to the beach is going to backfire. We live in an area that is overrun with tourists, but we don’t single them out with unreasonable fees. Everyone pays the same fees. We have been coming to Maui every year for the last 30 years, but we’ve heard the message and we won’t be back. But that’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?
Well said Marian!! We live in SoCal at the beach and Everyone pays for beach parking- us included. If these locals are so concerned they should have no problem putting their money where their mouth is. Any money paid could be going to maintenance for the area and perhaps parking expansion, right? So why should only the tourists pay? That’s discriminative and without tourist Maui would lose one of their main sources of income.
This is not about money, it is about getting our island back for those of us who live here. Politicians won’t do the hard stuff of putting the brakes on tourism so they come up with little bandaids like this. Personally I could care less if tourists get angry and don’t come back.
Most short sighed reply yet! Tourism is the only economy in Hawaii. Hand that feeds you and all that…
Last week you ran an article that said there weren’t enough tourists in Hawaii. This week your article tells us that Maui tourists will be charged $30.00 for beach parking. Maybe its just me, but does anyone else see a correlation? We live near a tourist/beach community (Hilton Head Island) Everyone pays for metered parking, by the hour, for beach access. The bathrooms, showers, boardwalks, etc. are well maintained & clean. Everyone who uses the beach pays. Only seems fair.
We are snowbirds and spend the winter in Maui. We own our place and pay our taxes but we can’t get a Hawaii driver’s license. There must be a provision for us to buy a yearly pass or this is completely unfair.
I have been thinking the same thing. Watch out for the rude comments back to you. We also pay GET for long term rental and PM and property taxes. I believe we should be able to use the beaches without all these fees. I guess we will walk or Uber.
Have y’all seen the parking on Maui? Even without tourists the facilities suck! Go to Laniopoko any time… all locals, no tourists, and no parking… I’d gather 90% of tourists stay on the well kept beach resorts fronting their hotels vs. The trashy beach parks with terrible facilities.
What you have is a demographic of people looking to blame anybody but themselves.
Kalama had youth football today… no parking anywhere.. damn tourists!!
The sooner politicians stop blaming others, the soon y’all will have good facilities.
How will this effect Handicap parking, taking into consideration public parking is free?
It seems to me that starting parking fees for beaches @ $30- is steep! At my age after visiting Maui and spending my vacation savings since 1975, I’m offended by the overuse of the phrase, “If you can afford a trip to Hawaii, (whatever the issue and cost are” shouldn’t be bad, costly, expensive, too much… I’m no wealthy, I just love the beauty, Aina, people, attitude and spirit of Hawaii and save money to go as “First Class” as possible!
This program is discrimatory and will not last. Someone will sue the county and it will be halted. Also, the money goes to “unspecified programs” local politicians lining there pockets. The residents should enjoy the tourism and its money why is there. The mother of all recessions is coming. The first thing people stop is vacations, remember during covid??? Short sighted policy. The real answer is to build infrastructure to handle the problem.
New Jersey’s beaches charge a beach fee (which can be purchased for weekly entrance) and parking. Visitors and residents pay the same. However, they have boardwalks with bathroom facilities, entertainment and food available. When you go to a Jersey beach, you’re there for the day. Do I want that for Hawaii? New Jersey has a carnival type of atmosphere, Hawaii is a totally different animal and I wouldn’t want it to change. However, outrageous parking fees in addition to daily with no weekly break beach fees is just too much. Hawaii is creating a most unfriendly family vacation environment. “Sorry kids, we can’t go to the beach today, we were there yesterday (can’t afford the father, mother and two kids beach fees and parking again).
This sounds like a great idea while creating another. Visitors have always found ways around our laws and restrictions such as proven while driving into Hana. No respect for property ownership while climbing fences to get to a “special place”. No regard for residents or whose property it is. The new charging will be an awesome way to improve and restrict illegal parking, but will it really? Entitled tourist who refuse to obey laws or personal property will park illegally and crowd roadways as they do already. How can we stop this if our own police won’t ticket them. It’s obvious when passing by some of our local small beaches, that there is no enforcement to parking by our law officers. Too busy? I guess.
No parking fees for anyone. If we need more spaces let’s add more parking. Government involvement in anything corrupts it. Let’s remain a friendly neighbor island.
I think that’s a wonderful idea. Either structures (sometimes ugly) or well engineered lots. I’m not an expert on your beach population being an Oahu person, but at its highest Waikiki beach is still good for a day. Are the beaches overcrowded with the current lots full? And I mean seriously overcrowded?
I am ok if public places charge for parking. I would prefer it’s charged hourly. I am a resident of California. I love Hawaii and I respect the local community. I hope they don’t forget how important the tourism industry is for their economy..
I agree, I don’t mind paying a smaller fee by the hour. I never stay more than 1-2 hrs and often just stopping for 30 minutes to check out the area or beach.
My problem is that our daughter and son-in-law live in Wailuku. She was hired as the controller for a large medical group there; when we visit we’re not typical tourists. We’ve been visiting Hawaii since she was a very young child, which is why she was so comfortable with and jumped at the opportunity to move to Hawaii when she was offered the position. We love Hawaii and would probably move there year-round, but we have another daughter and grandchildren here on the mainland who need us. When we visit, it’s for as long as we possibly can. It hurts a bit to have to fees like this considering we’ve been visiting since the early ‘90’s, consider ourselves ohana who are respectful of and love the islands and their people, and have family there.
As a kama’aina, born & raised, I sadly see my Ohana being priced out of staycations (used to have kama’aina hotel rates), restaurants (kama’aina discounts discontinued), and now our beaches. Yes!! Finally we can have an opportunity to enjoy our shoreline & beaches efroe the tourists scoop up all the parking. Enuf already. Put locals first, when can. Mahalo!
I’m an occasional tourist, I support giving those who live on the island free access. Some of my relatives are born and raised in Hawaii for many generations. That said I think tourist parking should be limited to perhaps 2-3 hr increments and with a cost that is not so high, longer times should see a higher price per hr. This should all be done with an app that would know if someone is trying to beat the system. Car license plate and credit cards can track.
It’s becoming laughable. Why anyone goes there now is beyond me. I just went to St Lucia. Friendly peopke. Great beaches. I’d much rather go there…
Yes, go there!! Go anywhere, just not Hawaii. The gentrification of the culture is bad enough without being over-run by tourists literally at every single turn. Go somewhere new, somewhere the locals aren’t already frustrated and defensive. You’d be angry too if your home were being exploited & destroyed by entitled strangers.
Exploited? Who’s doing the exploiting? The tourists? LOL.. I’m pretty sure it’s the people holding the purse strings in HI.
You act like you are the only ones that deal with tourists clogging their streets beaches and restaurants…grow up a little bit.
Laura,
Not all of us “entitled” tourists are the same. I am also from a high tourists area. With out them we don’t make the money we Ll need to live. Maybe we should take your advise and go elsewhere, I will just support you on welfare with my taxes.
I oppose the $30 flat rate parking idea. This flat rate parking fee will encourage people to park all day which I suspect will not solve the congestion at the beaches. I would suggest that 1) locals get a free parking pass each month that’s good for some number of hours beach parking. And 2) that for an additional cost each rental agreement can include such a parking pass for x hours of parking for a week. Use the additional revenue to enhance beach parking. There needs to be a balance here between locals and tourists. If the costs continue to rise for tourists fewer people will come, but the local economy will suffer. Ultimately, Maui’s economy needs to diversify or this battle of locals vs tourists will persist.
We’ve owned a condo across from Kam 3 for 20 years. We’ve paid property,TAT, GET and income taxes the whole time. We also own a car here and so pay the annual DMV fees. Before Covid, Maui used to issue us a residence aka Kamaina card. With the advent of the “star id “ they no longer do so. We know people from other states that issue nonstar IDs drivers licenses and so they are able to get the star ID Resident card here but in reality are citizens of their other state.
So for practical purpose, we are residents of Maui but get absolutely none of the benefits.
If you’re talking about how you pay TAT and GET, I assume the income taxes you are speaking of is the income you make off renting that condo out short term. That doesn’t make you a resident. Unless you actually lived in that condo and paid all income taxes in the state of Hawaii, not just the income off your rental, you are not a resident and should have never had a Hawaii ID.
Anyone who owns property in Hawai’i is considered a resident for tax purposes, although the tax rate changes when you are a part-time resident vs. permanent resident. The parking law has not been passed yet but I suspect when it is, it will accommodate part time residents.
Let’s charge more to import everything to Maui… When Hawaiian residents come to the mainland,let’s surcharge them at hospitals, food establishments, etc… it should work both ways. Does Texas charge more for the snowbirds every winter…? Of course not, they are welcomed…
I’ve been on Maui for close to 40 years and raised 2 keiki. I don’t like this….it’s a terrible idea! Thank god I can walk to a beach (north Kihei ). That beach will be taken over soon with the huge timeshare at the former Maui Lu! 🌺
Since we usually do short beach (1 hour) trips for a morning snorkel or swim, I’d be inclined to either find street parking and walk a ways to the destination or go to a beach with cheaper or no parking fees. This will free parking at the lot, but impact parking elsewhere. If I’m paying $30, I’ll be planning on making it a full day at the beach.
Here is an easier solution, although it does not necessarily deter parking congestion, but it raises revenue for the county:
All rental companies will add $ 2 per day for each rental vehicle.
The rental revenue is earmarked for beach and street maintenance. There are around 1,000 cars rented per day on Maui. That would generate approx. $2K per day – almost $750,000 annually. Managed properly, that would create a revenue stream to support more jobs and cleaner areas.
Granted, congestion is not relieved, but….
Are you kidding? Rental cars are high enough! On the off chance we go to Maui again (showing Ohana around) it will be for Haleakala and Lahaina Town, Not for the beaches! Leave the rental cars alone. They’re expensive enough already.
Obviously you haven’t rented in Maui recently. On 605$ rental I’m paying 372.00 for the rental,and 233.00 for State and local tax’s and fees. Not to mention the 18% tax on my room. So tourist are paying their fair share and then some. But don’t worry the coming depression will solve the crowded parking issue.
While I understand the theory behind this, as a visitor to Maui for many years, I am incensed with the idea of this daily fee of $30. That is much too high. Perhaps it is time to take my tourist dollars completely elsewhere.
OK, Go elsewhere. Our official island plan was to have average tourism population to be no more than 30% of resident population. It is currently 45% which is way too high. We want it back to 30%. If it were at or below 30%, residents would not complain about parking and there likely would be no special fee for tourists anyway.
Love the paid parking for visitors, I think we should also add additional fee’s for just flying into Maui to begin with including additional taxes on visitors accommodations and rental car fee’s. Add an additional $50 per night and $50 per day rental charge that way maui county can at least make more money from All theses tourists!
Wow. Just wow. You are aware these exorbitant fees already exist & Have been massively increased recently? Unbelievable.
If there was a quick and easy way to get to West Maui and South Maui after shopping at Costco, I wouldn’t even rent a car, I would only use Uber, buses. and taxis to get to beaches.