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224 thoughts on “New Fees, Fines And Systems Coming To Maui and All Hawaii Visitors”
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I say do what you have to do to maintain as much of the natural beauty, flora, fauna, and your sanity as possible. It’s your home; we are visitors. People don’t want impolite, rude, obnoxious, law/rule breaking visitors in their homes and this applies to visiting homes away from home as well. Even if there is a monetary price to pay. I would grant them jail time that they have to maintain financially and ban them from ever returning. Plus pay full restitution for any and all damages.
All for it!!
Additional Fees for all those areas mentioned are fine with me. I do not favor being charged extra dollars just to visit the islands. Where I stay on Oahu, I live like a local and do not go to any ‘tourist’ destinations, including Waikiki Beach. I am charged a high amount of taxes on my airfare and lodging. Those $$$ should cover things we all use, like road repair, restrooms in public areas, lifeguard salaries, etc. Just in my humble opinion.
Impact fees on persons traveling to Hawaii——Interesting and self-destroying concept. But who is to say who among persons owning and occupying Hawaii real estate is or is not a “resident” for purposes of charging an impact fee. That’s a slippery slope for sure
When I first read about the possibility of added fees and restrictions for tourists, I felt really disheartened, especially because our son and his husband are coming with us to Maui in 2022 and it’s already an over-the-top destination for them in terms of cost. I also don’t want to end up paying a lot of extra fees, but I’m more accustomed to high costs in Hawaii overall, and my husband and I accept that as just part of the deal because we love Hawaii, and we plan for that cost by cutting spending elsewhere. As several commenters have stated, it’s not just the state of Hawaii looking into – or already – making changes to address high demand at national parks, etc. Some mainland national parks are requiring reservations to limit crowding and impact, and I think many others will follow suit. Many places, like the Grand Canyon, have required permits – for years – for overnight hiking in the canyon, obtained at least a year out – if you’re lucky enough to get one. There are many coastal areas, for example in and around San Diego, where only locals can park with their neighborhood passes to minimize tourist congestion, and tourists must pay to park elsewhere. There is, it seems, always a tension between locals and tourists in those much-in-demand places that we all love, as well as parks and monuments that are in demand because they are so tremendous. We all want to be free to do whatever we want to do at little or no cost … but that just isn’t how things are going to work any more. I’m hopeful that Hawaii will come up with some creative ways to protect it’s environment and the locals so that it can continue to be a wonderful, if expensive, destination for the rest of us. Thanks, BOH, for your wonderful newsletter – so very helpful!
Hi Glenna.
Thanks. We appreciate your thoughtful and numerous comments.
Aloha.
Aloha,
As a frequent visitor to the islands I am finding myself less and less interested in coming back. The more the island complain and increase the costs to visit I am looking elsewhere for our long term vacations. It is with sadness I make this choice but costs are getting out of hand on the islands. We will treasure our past visits. Mahalo
The road to Hana should be limited each day. That road is way to dangerous with tourists looking at the sights out the windows and not watching the road. I would also make it one way with every 2-3 hours switching back and forth. Reservations to drive it could also be an option.
Really getting tired of all the restrictions Hawaii has & now may institute. The cost of airfare, lodging, car rental, food, events, etc. is already outrageous & exorbitant. Now they want to add additional fares !! Only the rich can afford to come. Do they not understand that tourism is vital to their existence ? They had better realize that they are biting the hand that feeds them.
Is this how you lure visitors to come for a visit. Your economy is a disaster and needs all the tourists it can get.
But is it, and do we?
Good points by Leith. I think much of the islands want to cater to the Zuckerberg/Larry Ellison types.
I haven’t been back to Maui for a few years, spending time on other Islands. However, my heart was won in the time I spent learning of Hawaii’s culture and people. I too have spent most of my life in popular tourist areas. I’m not surprised that as COVID restrictions relax, and the population has grown, you are feeling the stretch. To be truthful, the $400 Impact Fee will be seen as a cash grab, and will overall seem like an aggressive anti-tourist move (I am certain some locals feel that anyway at this point). Commerce and Aloha seem to grind against each other here.
With a visitor staying 7 – 14 days, the $400 will not be a deterrent. The trip is already expensive. Indeed, for those who are disrespectful, you’ll create or reinforce a false feeling of entitlement.
If I may propose, your tourism association and local stake holders should agree on a particular number of travelers that would be agreeable on a daily basis. Set up a reservation system online, first come first served. Set up a check point for validation of reservation, perhaps just after the turn off to Haiku,, to allow those without reservation to turn around. Or – if reservations to not total the agreed upon number of visitors allowed for the day, perhaps you can take payment at that time. Make it reasonable amount (Maui residents at no charge!).
You will create another few jobs, with visitors paying the salaries of those at the check points. Your tourism association will not find it too difficult to set up and manage the reservation system. Indeed, you may find you can control not only the numbers, but the times of departure, for a further easing of traffic flow. Of course, the program need not be that complex. I wish the beautiful people and a’ina of Maui much aloha and a wish for peace and prosperity as you share – comfortably – the scenes and story of Maui.
So Maui, which is a tourist destination and relies on tourism for $$ wants to limit the people coming to maui?
They don’t want less money, just less tourists.
The dream is to keep the riff raff out, and only have big spenders who go home without buying any land or homes.
Unlikely to happen, but that’s the dream.
Hi David.
We were wondering where you’d been. Good to hear from you. And thanks for more than 300 comments.
Aloha.
While I definitely understand there may be a reason for some added fees, one of the issues is whether it would truly be utilized to protect resources from overuse and to maintain infrastructure. The moves by the Maui government appear excessive, reactionary, and not well considered as the message is very negative toward tourists. I understand Maui is feeling overwhelmed with the travel surge but this should have been considered as a serious possibility by leadership given pent up travel demands and lack of being able to readily travel outside of US. As someone who travels to Hawaii annually, this would all make the decision to return soon to Maui questionable
Cate, we had to Test to go to Maui and I understand that, but 2 days later we had to test again @ $150 pp to move on to Kauai. People who were fully vaccinated in Hawaii did not have to do this. I have the same CDC card and received the same shots. Why did I have to test again. Additional dollars into the coffers … and it makes no sense at all, just like these type of taxes. Take away the additional unemployment $$ and get those people back to work. We couldn’t eat in restaurants because they had no servers. We couldn’t shop in stores because they closed at 5 pm because they had no workers. The islands opened up and asked us to come. We came at great expense, but couldn’t eat in restaurants or shop in stores. I do not get it.
My wife and have been visiting Maui since 1978.The Maui Lu was the furest south you can go at that time. Know you have resorts all over the west coast. Why has the county and state government over the years allowed this without having the proper infrastructure to handle the increase tourist? Have tourist shuttle like what is used between the Westins to lahiana. We have always respected and supported the local small businesses in Maui but adding fees to visit will reduce what we spend in those businesses.
Its one thing to charge a tax on hotel stays, rental cars, and fees to enter state or national parks, it’s another to charge a tax on people entering the state. Could you imagine if every state on the mainland set up toll booths at the borders to “encourage respect” from people entering? What a money grabbing sham! What about the people who come to the islands for business or family reasons? Will they be taxed because they aren’t residents?
And who will be in charge of allocating that money back to the islands? Will the money end up in the same black hole of ineptitude as all the money the state has been collecting from tourists these many years; I’m betting yes. The state was billions of dollars in debt before the pandemic, and will continue to be in debt for as long as we keep electing the same idiots to office.
Let’s also not forget that the right to travel between states is federally protected and upheld by the supreme court decision Edwards v. The People of the State of California (1941). Creating a barrier to enter a state, whether physical, monetary, or other is prohibited, and would open the state up to litigation.
Hey gang,
Always enjoy the updates! Can’t wait to return to Kauai – in a few months. The next fee we’ll see is a COVID-19 Recovery Fee, probably something no one has thought of as yet. Leave it to the state to issue some unfunded taxes for extra “employment”.
Thanks!
Hi Dale.
Thanks for all of your comments. We’re happy you’ll be returning to Kauai soon, and we appreciate the semi-levity.
Aloha.
Keep increasing fees to vacationers and you”ll chase them away.
FACT: keep it up and the millions collected in TAT tax collection will drastically be reduced however government mismanaged spending will not. Guess where the lost TAT tax revenue will have to come from?
Heres a hint, you locals!!! Your politicians know this and they know they will get their tax money one way or the other.
DO YOU REALLY NOT GET THAT?
Your political leaders prostituted your state to tourism years ago. It was easy money and created jobs but none of you had the sense to understand it came with tourists. You want, you need their money but it comes with strings attached and you are all to far down that road to change it now. Its just a question of how much you all are going to pay.
So be very careful what you ask for.
A tax is a tax is a tax. You can call it anything you want–a fee, a surcharge, a parking or traffic ticket, etc–but it’s still just a tax and it all goes into the same giant government bank account. And Hawaii’s model already is–and always will be–a giant “tax the tourists” system–to pay for their own local expenses and projects–because the islands produce no other significant products or resources other than tourism. And considering how the state and county governments of Hawaii willingly and knowingly drove their own economies straight off a cliff in 2020–blaming it on COVID–costing themselves–and the citizens–untold BILLIONS in taxes and sales revenues–no to mention unemployment payments and the permanent failure of countless businesses–it is no surprise to anyone that their first step in the “recovery” would be to raise existing taxes and / or add new taxes–to pay for their complete mismanagement of the pandemic. The state was $10,000,000,000+ in debt BEFORE the pandemic… I can’t even imagine how much deeper that hole of incompetence has gotten in the past year. It was already a huge burden to the local citizens that will never, ever be resolved–not with the clowns we have running the state and counties at the moment–not the system they have created to keep themselves employed for life regardless of their incompetence.
But there is no question that places like the Road to Hana are a complete cluster f*ck due to years of neglect and mismanagement by the state and county. For decades, millions and millions of tourists have come to Maui and paid billions and billions in hotel, rental car, food and beverage taxes–and very little of that money ever made its way into improving the Road to Hana–or any other tourist attraction on Maui. (It was, instead, squandered on hand-outs to locals in the form of EBT, a huge government bureaucracy, health care, etc.) So now, Maui is saying “we need to tax the tourists even MORE–to pay for all of these
Obviously you don’t live here and haven’t seen the impact first hand.
I totally agree. I’m fortunate enough to be a resident and we lived here for 7 years. We love the tourists and please keep coming. It’s because of the tourists that I pay ridiculous low property taxes. Hey Californians and New Yorkers, guess what we’re paying for property taxes. You’re not going to believe this. Our condo is assessed at $702 K and we’re paying $1500 per year. Repeat, that’s One Thousand five hundred for the entire year. Yes I know, property is expensive as well as the food. However there’s additional benefits such as, local sales taxes are 4.166% and Hawaii doesn’t tax my federal pension nor my wife’s state pension!! So you retirees out there should consider relocating to Hawaii. Keep coming tourists the Islands need the revenues. Mahalo
Hawaii does not tax government pensions, BUT they do tax private pensions (eg., a distribution from your 401K). That was a deal they long ago gave to their public employee unions. That’s one reason there are a lot of retired fire-police personnel that move there. Is a good place to be on a disability pension, as well.
All pensions are equal, but some pensions are more equal than other pensions..
Having just got home to Kansas from Maui on 6/19/21, after a 10 day stay on Maui, at Hona Kai, I think this is significant over reaction. You are assuming the level of tourism will remain at this level. What you are seeing is the increase of travel after no one traveled for over a year. If all things continue to go up in price, as they have been recently, rent, food, gas, housing prices, etc…people will not have the extra money to travel, let alone fees.
We were here 4 years ago, and see a few improvements in the road into Lahaina and a few others… we also went to Haleakala and paid our $30 fee, but we got to use it for 3 days, which only makes it $10 a day if used. We drove the road to Hana as well, and didn’t find it as chaotic as before & felt like the signs worked for the most part.
I say all this to say, some fees make work, but if the funds are not put back into Maui tourism improvements to the airport, roads, etc, people will find other places to go for a lot less money plus and skip the 5 hour flight from CA.
And then Hawaii will be back where it was with the Covid pandemic! No people and no funds. So look at your government spending first!
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.
I personally don’t have a problem with the islands charging a fee to visit there if they will be used wisely to help the economy recover from the tragic losses they had to endure in the past year. I want the islands to become open to frequent visits and also to see the local population thrive. It’s tragic what they had to endure through all this and any way we can help them recover is a good thing.
I think the fees are a good idea IF the purpose is to maintain the integrity of the island. I’ve seen people and their children have no respect for the beauty that exists. Its not disneyland…
I took a few girls a couple years ago and was astounded about the attitude of my dear friends sisters attitude re reef safe sun screen and recycling…she could have cared less. I live in the high desert of NM and am very conscious of my “footprint’ but she proudly said she left a huge footprint and didn’t care..not inviting her again. We need to preserve the integrity of the islands and the sea life
The fees, fines, and signage on Hana Hwy are not enough. The real problem is too many cars. Also, this article understates how many cars we have to deal with daily…some days it is much much more than 600. It feels like a slap in the face…we see tourists move cones, steal no parking signs, drive down our driveways and private roads to turn around, trespass, litter, use our neighborhoods to relieve themselves, and scream at us about “no aloha” when we ask them to move on. Yes, we know Hana Highway receives federal funds, blah, blah, blah. Perhaps our lawmakers could have it designated as a Unesco world site needing preservation so that you can limit the number of cars before traffic congestion causes a tragedy here. Maybe a hop-on, hop-off bus system for non-residents would also help.
Aloha, I would be so upset if I lived in Hana, that’s disgusting. In 36 years of traveling to Maui, I’ve been to Hana once and took a tour van to get there. It was very beautiful and I enjoyed it immensely, It just doesn’t seem fair to invade the space of people who live there.
We have a condo in West Maui and I simply cannot believe how full the building will way in to 2022. There are simply no vacancies and I just can’t imagine how crazy it will be.
Mahalo BOH for all the information. I forward your newsletter to people all the time.
Lanel
Hi Lanell.
Thanks. And we look forward to hearing from you as well!
Aloha.
Mahalo for the updates so we can better prepare for our vacation. I think limiting flights to the islands to manage volume of incoming tourists would be a better idea for now since international travel is still limited so Hawaii is a hot destination. However the additional/increase in fees may also deter some tourists from vacationing to the islands as car rental rates are already outrageous, costs more than your airfare. I guess some will just decide to go elsewhere
HI Inah.
Thanks for your many comments, and your input on these fees.
Aloha.
I don’t mind paying a higher entrance fee to the national parks or local parks. But to charge an extra fee just to go to Maui that does not make me respect Maui or the Hawaiian islands more it actually puts a bad taste in my mouth. I have been going to the islands and have respected them I clean up I pick up garbage that I see left from other people charging that extra hundred dollars I don’t know that I would pick up the extra trash. Hawai is starting to make it that I will find other places to go and not return there. I’m thinking that that is what they want they don’t want visitors to come and then they’re at economy is going to crash even greater.
When are you going to open Hawaii I Have plane tickets just whating for you to open I hope you open soon I Would hate to loose my tickets for you being so stubborn you can go to Florida or any where else with no problem you are killing you county I hope you open soon
It’s really sad to see that the islands are going to raise fee’s and create new ones that will it impossible for the average person to vacation there.
“It’s really sad to see … impossible for the average person to vacation there.”
That is the goal. The mayor of Kauai has stated this out loud. He wants high end tourists, not coupon clippers.
First came here in 1968 on our honeymoon. Have returned to our time share every two years since then. It’s a shame how Maui has developed so much over the years. It used to be a quiet paradise, but not anymore.
So it’s ok for you because you came in 68? My mom came in 55, so no one else is allowed? Oahu had 3 hotels then, I liked it better in 65 too but I’m not dissing others.
I think this website is very informative-thanks
Since ya mentioned it…. When does those Haena State Park parking passes go on sale?
I’ve been checking the website almost everyday; June and July are fully booked and have been for months.
Hi Mike.
Thanks for your 50 comments to date. Are you checking at midnight, Hawaii time? That is when people are reporting finding the 30-day out availability. Please let us know how that works.
Aloha.
Yes, you are correct. When I went to get passes on the gohaena.com site last month, all of the (reportedly available) 900 daily entry passes 30 days out were gone by 12:08 AM Hawaii time.
They are only avaialble 30 days out and like the BOH boys said, you have to do it at 12am HST
Thank you for trying to preserve these beautiful islands! We visit Maui every year and stay in Kihei. One thing we would love to see is a trolley that goes up and down the length of Kihei Road. This would help greatly with traffic, reduce emissions and allow visitors to stay in Kihei without having to rent a car. We have taken the bus but it does not travel frequently enough. I know we would be happy to buy a weekly pass to ride it..
Hi Floresha.
Thanks for your first-time comment and input on Maui transportation.
Aloha.
About 50 years ago there was a publication that was about how to travel to “Europe on $5 a day”. If they start adding fees like “Impact Fees”, maybe someone will write how to do Hawaii on $5 a day. Spending more on State imposed fees may result in visitors spending less on vacation to offset those fees.
Hi Lopaka.
Funny coincidence. The book you referred to is by our friend Arthur Frommer, who penned that book soon after he returned home after World War II. If it hadn’t been for $5 a day and Arthur, there would probably not be a Beat of Hawaii.
Aloha.
Nowadays everything is about money. I can see if mainlanders visit pay these amounts, but why would you have returning Islanders pay these fees? And where will all this money to to? Who pockets these fees? Who keep tracks of the books? Will residents achieve anything? Why not help the Islanders first? Create rent control, put the military back on base, look at that I sore of the cement bridge going across Oahu, when will that be done? Waste of billions of tax payer hard working money. Hawaii didn’t need that, who took all that money?? You people come up with ways to make money, but Hawaii is going backwards. Greedy people is what Hawaii is made of you politicians are the worst ones. I say redo your plans and do something for the people!!!
Hawaii……forget you!
I drove through Hana highway this afternoon, 6/26. Tourists were respectful, courteous, and adhered to local laws. Perhaps instead of stapling handmade signage made from paper or wooden crates, the county could invest a little in official signs from all the capital it’s making from said tourists.
Aloha – Mahalo for keeping us abreast of the latest Hawaii travel news. The proposed additional fees (parking fines/fees excluded) strike me as short-sighted NIMBYism. There’s nothing wrong with a diverse economy but that’s not where things are now. The lack of travel in 2020 was a disaster for Hawaii. To attempt to curtail tourism without reasonable alternatives seems very unwise. It also overlooks that visitors already pay taxes on accommodations and hefty airfares just to get to Hawaii. It would be an improvement if booking systems such as the one for Haena State Park allowed greater opportunity to book in shorter timeframes and provide a viable alternative to reach the destination if no parking is available. (i.e. shuttle was not running when I was on island in May)
Hi Peter.
Thanks. We have wondered too about the ability to have last-minute availability based on no-shows or cancellations. And yes, the shuttle service needs to return, even if it has to start at Hanalei in order to avoid the road closure issue.
Aloha.
Excellent comment Nikki M. We have a trip planned in October. We are going to cancel. It is absurd to want to charge all these new fees. Good luck getting people to want to come to your islands. Pure greed.
Seriously has Shane Sinenci EVER been to the Galapagos…????? Comparing Maui to the Galápagos Islands REALLY….!!!!!!
Car rental prices are beyond acceptable! E-bikes are more expensive than car rentals prior to the pandemic. Kihei was once affordable – The island prices are sure pushing their bread and butter aka tourists away!
This our 5th trip to the islands, baring last year, the islands are getting more & more congestion. The island seem to be overwhelming crowded. What can be done to save these beautiful islands I don’t know
The powers that be need to come up with another plan besides
hahaha…
The stupidity of Hawaii continues to astonish..
So an airline is going to tax tourists, but the locals with be up in arms when the tax applies to them also… And these people get elected ( in East Maui)
Sure Victorino.. airlines are going to sacrifice profits.. good one.. Maybe if they (the Mayors and Gov.) didn’t basically drop to their knees of Southwest, they wouldn’t have those problem?
Leave it to a bunch of locals to want to change the entire system because they can’t park as easily at a beach park.
Florida will take the tourists. They like working and having things like money, retirement and homes. Plus you’ll interact with a less depressed and scared society. You’ll actually see smiling, happy faces.
I’d gladly pay whatever I have to while visiting and protecting paradise.