Advertorial or news piece? This article about “Responsible Hawaii Travel” just hit us wrong.
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38 thoughts on “NYTimes Is Wrong: This Isn’t Responsible Hawaii Travel”
Advertorial or news piece? This article about “Responsible Hawaii Travel” just hit us wrong.
Dean, having worked with many homeless people I can tell you that a huge majority don’t Want to work. I’m afraid a program like that would just create another layer of bureaucracy where funds would be siphoned into the wrong hands!
You got this one completely wrong. Most respondents seem to agree that you are off base.
I Loved the NY Times article. It was refreshing to see them pushing something more than corporate tourism, and a lot more responsible than the article they ran mid-pandemic urging people to come here while most things were closed down.
As an alternative, why not redirect taxes used to promote tourism to fund a program to hire the homeless as a labor force to clean parks, beaches, perform other community service projects that seem to need tourists as a workforce to perform. It would reduce tourism as desired and positively impact Hawaii. Fees could be added to better fund the program as needed. Tourists could still perform public service if they desire.
Responsible tourism is not acting like you are better than everyone else. It’s not being entitled. It’s showing respect for others and the land and animals. This is something that those people don’t understand. If they are unwilling to do that, they should find somewhere else to go.
I am very disappointed with this article, BoH. I expect better from you. Have you considered how hard it is for farmers to make a decent living anywhere in the world, let alone on Hawaii. The extra income they receive from the vacation rentals can surely help them keep their farm maintained, fix equipments, thrive, and Survive. I agree that it is not as eco as other ideas you mentioned, but we can all start somewhere in small steps. This particular baby step is experiencing how farmers live, what life is like without basic amenities that most people assume are required necessities and have taken for granted. Baby steps count as much as the grand ideals. I want all farmers on all Hawaii islands to survive and thrive. May they prosper.
I agree! Farming is difficult! I stopped buying from grocers and only go to local farmers for most of my food. It is fresher, and it helps the local farmers and it helps Hawaii remain self sustaining.