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224 thoughts on “New Fees, Fines And Systems Coming To Maui and All Hawaii Visitors”
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Don’t get me wrong but I think the idea of impact fees is ridiculous! First and foremost, we love Hawaii and respect and honor it’s culture, environment and people. We have been coming to Hawaii from Minnesota for nearly 25 years at great expense to travel and stay. We never complained about the added cost to test for COVID before and after we came this spring. This additional fee will be one less golf tee, or one less restaurant meal. Consider the impact on your economy.
Hi Beverly.
Thanks for your many comments and the input on traveler fees.
Aloha.
Aloha Rob & Jeff!
As always, thank you for your excellent newsletter & keeping us all informed on current events on the islands.
I’ve been visiting the islands since 1979, when over tourism wasn’t nearly the problem it is today.
(and I’ll bet that the locals & visitors that were there in the 60s were horrified at how things how changed by the 70s).
It was quite a few years ago, but I remember deciding on the spur of the moment to toodle down to Ke’e beach.
There were very few cars on the road, & I was able to find a parking space within minutes.
In 2018, I was in Maui & drove to Hana with very few cars on the road with me—in fact, there were long stretches where I
was the only car on the road.
It’s hard to fathom how tourism has ballooned so much in just a few years.
In 2019, Rome implemented hefty fines (250-400 euros) to people who soil, deface or damage any historic or artistic sites—as well as lounging on the Spanish Steps—in an effort to avert unwanted tourist behavior.
Venice Italy is thinking of putting up turnstiles to limit tourism.
Maya Bay in Thailand closed because over tourism damaged the environment & killed the coral.
Beside the sheer number of tourists, part of the problem is lack of respect for the environment & ecosystems.
I’ll be back on Kauai in 2022, & I can’t believe I have to buy a ticket 30 days in advance to “pop over” to Ke’e beach.
It’s truly disheartening, but Hawaii will likely need to take some extreme measures to limit tourism & begin seriously enforcing
acceptable behavior with regard to the environment, or risk permanently destroying the islands.
Hi Dayna.
Thanks for all your comments. We’re glad to hear you’ll be returning here to Kauai soon.
Aloha.
If this happens, we will just choose to travel elsewhere. It is already a trip that we have saved up for for the last few years, adding on an extra fee just to get there just seems like a way to keep Maui available for the excessively wealthy. We are very respectful travelers and have always been conscious about our footprints/presence in places that are not our home. Extra fees to visit seem like a punishment and a deterrent to coming— which might be what they actually want. We love Maui and want the best for the island, but these extra fees are not the way to do it. It just sets it apart for the priveledged.
Agree. The rich will always pay to play. Seems like the more they pay, the less regard they have for the environment.
Pretty sure that this can be looked at as interference with interstate commerce. Expressly forbidden by the founding fathers. The people of Hawaii need a new PR firm immediately. Every single thing you have done for the last year + has made you look either bad or idiotic.
We leave for Maui and then to Kauai in three days. It may be our last trip. I understand it must be hard to have so many visitors at once but nickel and diming visitors to death isn’t a great idea to keep the tourist industry going. We respect and love Hawaii but it sounds like it will become only an island for the Uber rich and there are so many other places to go and see. I’ll think we’ll plan our next trip to the Caribbean or Costa Rica instead of Hawaii.
If the fees are used to improve the support facilities, improve (not necessarily increase capacity) of roads, preserve land and restore the ecosystem then I would support them. If it is just a way to collect more money for “general” use, then no,
Wonder if the same will apply for inter-island travel for Kamaʻāina.
Aloha,
Well goodbye Maui, it’s been fun!
I would not return there to stay ever again if I’m charged an extra $100. The state and separate counties need to work with the airlines on limiting flights and number of incoming tourists, not raising prices and adding fees to anything and everything, as they seek their “higher class of tourist”!
Mahalo !
Stop building on Maui is a start, the more places to stay the more cars to get there! How many Westin’s, Hyatt’s and Hilton’s does it take to ruin this beautiful island? There’s plenty of people that can afford these fees, it will not help control the tourism.
Many Florida Counties,eg, Collier, have installed parking pay stations at the Gulf beaches. Residents & out of state property owners are exempt however they must obtain their annual free parking pass vehicle sticker from the public libraries and other sources. All others pay via credit card at the beach’s parking kiosk ($1.50 per hour). The County religiously checks for violations. In addition because there are numerous streets near the beaches, the County has made various Beach access locations off limits to vehicles (no pay kiosks available). So this has cut back crowded streets near beaches and forced tourists to park at the designated beach parking lots instead of city streets near the beaches.
Honestly, the additional fees are minimal. The bigger issue is what are they going to do with the money. I live here, I am a Hawaii resident and I would hope that the fees would go to those areas directly impacted instead of some administration and regulation of the fees. That being said, a $35 fee for parking in a no parking area is a joke. No one‘s going to care, people spend more than that on lunch. It needs to be significant. That way it’s a deterrent otherwise people see the $35 free ticket and they’re going to throw it in the trash.
For those that say the added fees are just one other reason that they’re not going to go to Hawaii… Good, we don’t need you.
I think a fee for non-residents to drive the road to Hana is long overdue. That road is a favorite of ours when we visit, and we have noticed that the wear and tear over the years is taking its toll on roadside vegetation and trails. The last time we were there, the seven pools area was closed due to overuse and abuse by vacationers. The Park ranger we spoke with said they just can’t keep up with tourists who don’t respect the land.
It’s quite common here in Utah to pay a fee to drive up canyon roads, visit state or national parks, camp, or park at major trailheads. People have come to expect to pay whatever the fee is, whether it’s $6 for a canyon pass, or $30 for a national park.
The trick is not to overdue “fees”. Hopefully there is an equitable solution to be found. 🙂
Will visitors paying an impact fee get a kiss along with getting s@#$%&d?
And really, the goal is “to create a higher level of respect for the islands?” Create respect by charging people extra for it? Likely not.
From a flatlander’s point of view, I’m all for increasing fees, requiring advanced reservations, and enforcing parking violations. It makes me angry that law enforcement has to make a decision between responding to calls for assistance and enforcing parking. Much too often, tourists feel entitled to do whatever they want because they “paid a lot of money” to go to Hawaii. I understand they paid a lot to get there. That doesn’t excuse the ignorance I’ve personally seen or the disregard for posted signage.
I also understand that 100 mainland families can come through and show proper respect for everything that is Hawaii and that perception can be ruined by one entitled jerk. Ultimately, I think Hawaiians need to enact the kinds of rules and structure that best preserves their beautiful islands and I fully support their right to do so.
Will the total number of people these fees discourage from coming to Hawaii really have that big of an impact? Likely not.
Why not sell a set number of Hana HWY passes per day? Make it a lottery type of pass. Many hikes in AZ are by reservations only. Antelope Canyon is this way. Once the passes are given out no one else can come in. Locals of course don’t apply with that.
Ugh-I didn’t realize the parking for Kee Beach sold out a month before-I was thinking there were released 2 weeks before the date-I guess we won’t be able to go there in July
Concerning the Road to Hanna I would love to see all traffic banned and only have tour companies on that road. First it would limit the amount of traffic, cut down on illegal parking and stops and increase revenue for the locals. I do not believe that any cars except the locals should be on that dangerous road.
Hana is my favorite place and I’ve had amazing, unbelievable experiences as well as meeting people who became family.
I hope when I come back in fall it will be peaceful and not crowded. It’s something I dislike.
Hopefully these tourists respect the land and don’t litter.
It’s always good to bring a trash bag and gloves to clean up some of the beautiful locations just to give thanks to the island and keep it clean for others.
We just returned from Oahu and were amazed at the number of tourists on the island. We don’t usually visit in June, so perhaps it’s normal, but it seemed very crowded to us. Our son, who lives in Kaneohe, prefers not to go anywhere near Waikiki. I don’t blame him, the other side of the island was much more peaceful. I don’t blame Hawaii for wanting to add taxes and fees on tourist sites, but I also know that the island needs the income from tourism. It’s a difficult problem. How much is too much? How much is needed for people to make a living? Since our family is from Hawaii, we’d support fees that will help protect the environment, and reserve some space for the people who live there.
I think this post-CoVid surge makes for a good excuse to levy fees on tourists visiting the Islands. Once it all settles back down the fees will remain. It wasn’t all that long ago that so many small businesses were suffering due to CoVid and the complete lack of tourist dollars. Too much of a good thing today, which I believe will prove to be temporary, shouldn’t be exploited with new layers of fees levied on visitors.
Aloha,
I think this is a kneejerk reaction. Folks pent up on the mainland from the pandemic needed a place to visit, a change of scenery and time to reflect on life and what’s important. I think once that’s satisfied over the next year or so, the spike will subside.
Current circumstances means Hawaii cannot bite the hand that feeds it, so leadership needs to come up with alternatives. Business friendly business or taxe relief makes more longer term sense.
Mahalo for you website!
I think it’s great that they despise us tourists soo much, and yet now they intended to make money off us with all these “fees” (aka taxes). After reading all the articles lately about how the Hawaiians think we are ruining Hawaii, I’m surprised anyone even goes there anymore. You can cut the animosity with a knife. Who are the idiots though? Locals or us, the tourists, for going where we really are not wanted? I’ ll tell you….Us.
Trying to discourage people from coming to Hawai’i? It sounds like the you are working on that. There are other places in the World to visit.
The fees will be squandered on inept, union dominated government agencies and employees that neglect the parks, roads, and public safety or our beautiful state. Just more money to feed the bureaucracies that already fail so miserably in most branches of Hawaii government!
Sad but true!
The simplest and most effective way to reduce tourists is reduce the number of flights. Maui could easily makeup the loss in tourist revenue by severely raising taxes for the residents from sales taxes to property taxes.
I think impact fees would create more awareness of and respect for Hawaii’s unique natural and cultural resources. They would be a positive step toward regenerative tourism which nurtures these resources rather than depleting or damaging them. For example, impact fees could provide funding to hire interpreters who explain the importance of maintaining respectable distance from endangered species. Someone that the man who was shoving his go pro into a sea turtle’s face for at least 30 min at Kua Bay yesterday could have learned from.
The “extra fee” issues are just stupid. Comparing Maui to the Galapago makey no sense at all. Sounds like just another tax that will not end up being used for what it is supposedly being collected for. Taxes and fees are always what politicians want in order to “fix” problems.
Aloha!
It’s sad to see the possibility of higher fees to visit any of the islands,but at the same time I understand if all the fees will be being used towards beautifying the island’s most trafficked areas. As far as the Road to Hana, maybe a reservation system;just like the beach system. Entrance booth can be set-up allowing those with reservations to go through. That would suppress the heavy traffic flow, making it easier for residents. I understand the desire of driving to Hana because we did it 15 year’s ago, but there has to be a point where visitor’s need to respect the beauty. Aloha.
I understand the parking fees but I find the per person entry as nothing more than grabbing money out of my wallet. While in Kaua’i last month it cost us just over $31 to go to Ke’e beach and another $31 to go up Waimea Canyon and park to enjoy the views. I know that is not much compared to the entire cost of the trip but it was still sticker shock, especially at the Waimea Lookout. We are currently scheduled to be back for the last 2 weeks of October but I am seriously considering another venue. We have enjoyed visiting Kaua’i since 1991 and have never been so disappointed as we were for this last trip. Impact fees would be another reason to check out other areas.
Thank you for your updates. You’re the best source of information. I have two trips booked to Maui for September and October. A special treat for two of my grandchildren’s graduation, a last trip before they’re off to college. A rental. At is more than my airline tickets or my condo. Now I’m thinking of canceling everything and find a more welcoming place to take them.
If you want to limit the number of tourists, then the pocketbook is the best target. Bad plan in my opinion.
These proposals do not seem to be unusual at all. Oregon charged different rates for state residents than they did for those out of state to camp at campgrounds, and use of parks – and that was 35+ years ago.
Many states now require day-pass fees or annual fees for many of their parks, beaches campsites and other attractions. Those who benefit from using those places and amenities have a responsibility to support the cost of maintaining them.
Looks like its all about money – kinda losing that Aloha spirit. Have gone over 25 times and scheduled for next year already – may be my last.
Not likely to return to Maui for a while. Way too busy for me. If I want busy, I’ll go to Florida, or Caribbean, or Cancun. Keep your fees too. Cheaper to take a tour bus, get in all the parks! Hah!
Maui Councilmember Shane Sineci’s wish to impose impact fees on tourists to Maui is a lovely middle finger to island visitors. The cost of visiting Maui is already prohibitive. I just want to understand… do members of the Maui Council want visitors or not? Or maybe they prefer just wealthy visitors? As a 30 year annual visitor to Maui, I’m baffled.
Parking at Wainapanapa State Park has a limited number of spaces, and always has. Most folks traveling to Hana for the day may stop for a few minutes, maybe an hour if they are having lunch, then move on or you are driving on dark roads back to North and South and West Maui. The reservation thing is silly. NOW, non-residents will feel like they HAVE to go for the entire 2 1/2 hours to get their money’s worth.
Iao Valley has parking fees, and Makena too. I heard Disabled Non-Residents park free. Is that true?
Every park, county or state, has a limited number of spaces. Friday night at county beaches, you stake out your weekend pavilion under the trees for your family. Get to the beach early to get a spot to park. EVERYONE knows this. But, now PAID parking for non-residents? Does that mean that residents have their own parking area? Or, is it still a “get there early” thing.
Is there an UPSIDE to Residents for the Fees based Non-Resident Parking? Or, is it just the State making money?
Hawaii has become so popular, in part due to the fact that traveling outside the US is severely limited. Flying to Hawaii is already very expensive, and once you have arrived all food, dining, attractions and car rentals are very high. If I knew how the fees would be used and that it would benefit both the natives and travelers, then it might be ok. But as in all fees, that is not usually the case.
I guess I will take this opportunity to visit other places …seems like what i loved about Maui isnt there anymore…
It appears the “aloha” spirit that welcomed tourists to Maui is going by by. Just a perspective, but I feel is a valid one. I know my tourism dollars will be welcomed in many other places. Just saying . . . Aloha always.
Agree!
Please enjoy your new places. Thanks for being considerate of our home.
Agree.
I am grateful for the time we have spent on Maui. Protecting the land and its people is key and always has been a consideration for us. We don’t mind following rules and paying for parking but If we aren’t welcome, there are other beautiful places to go.
Sadly, completely agree. They are choking to death the very thing that feeds their people – tourism. It’s palpable that they don’t want tourists, even fellow Americans, so we will take our money and go elsewhere. What a shame.
Give it a few months maybe it’ll wane just like consumer spending 🙏🏽
Pretty much!! They tax the heck out of tourists already with all the fees they add on to rental cars, hotels, airfare etc !
Sadly, there will be no push back
+1
i feel this a bit. glad i got to see all these places before they were so over-run
but remember,thats the goal, to disincentivize a portion of the people
I agree. It seems like Maui wants to limit travel there and increase fees, making it harder to justify the long flight from the east coast.
You mean, respect for the local people, land, resources, etc.? Probably best you do go elsewhere.
It sounds more like an effort to preserve what you love about Maui.
It appears that Hawaii doesn’t want us back. Increased fees, expensive flights and hotels, the continued COVID restrictions…our annual trip to Maui last year was a travel nightmare. Mahalo but maybe not.
Outside of the resorts, Maui is a bit of a dump. Burned out cars everywhere. People living in crappy minivans along the beaches.
No, it is definitely not the same as even 5 yrs ago…
First most everyone is complaining that they are going out of business and need tourists back. Now they want to charge us even more. Many other places to visit that welcome visitors. So much for sharing the Aloha spirit with all that come…
I am beginning to believe that also.
I love Maui..Have never set out to destroy it’s natural beauty just as I respect the state I live in. But I will change back to visiting the continental USA if they proceed this direction.
Good.
Maui lost itself when there became more transplants than locals on the island.