A lasting dent remains in Hawaii’s reputation as a welcoming paradise. Is it time for Hawaii to adapt and embrace a more inclusive and respectful approach to tourism?
Leave a Comment
104 thoughts on “State Last to Recognize Sting Of Hawaii Costs, Anti-Tourism Sentiment”
Don’t surprise me a bit. Double hotel rates, Charge a greenfee, Charge more fees to attend beaches, Force airlines to increase. boarding fees and seat assignments. Demand only rich people as being welcomed. Is this an apology after the damage has been done act or just a realization of terrible decisions. The governor might have just said “Gilligan fetch another bucket. The SS Minnow is taking on water and going down fast.”. I promise Hawaiian tourist’s we’ll be appreciated and respected from now on. We really need your Money. Sorry IMO I think the wake up call might have been too late.
Thank you BOH for the excellent well thought out and sober analytical deep dive into the ongoing and worsening mess with regard to Hawaii’s economic and future tourism challenges. This is indeed a huge and many faceted problem that cannot be solved overnight, or with one party entrenched political players, that appear to be driven by special interests and personal financial gain.
Nothing will change, unfortunately, until the disastrous Green/Bissen political cabal is soundly voted out of office. The citizens of Hawaii deserve better and need to take control of their totally incompetent government that is doing irreparable harm to the Hawaiian Islands.
Aloha to all.
We can’t vote Bissen out of office for another 2 years, but we could recall him. There is a petition with 750 names on it at change.org. When Victorino was mayor, he was everywhere. So easy to talk story. But Bissen – no access to him at all.
Linda Lingle, was very successful in ‘91-‘99 as Mayor of Maui and followed that as a two term Governor through 2010. Sadly her Lt. Governor Duke Aione lost to Ige, but has plans to run again this year.
Randall C.
That’s good news to hear about Duke Aiona. Put me down to help support his campaign. I’ve always been impressed with his leadership. Hope your sources are correct about his running again for governor.
Aloha!
I thought the OP points were repetitive. I get it, the OP doesn’t like the Governor.
I do agree that a “more balanced approach that recognizes tourism’s contributions to the local economy while respecting and preserving community well-being and environmental sanctity is more essential now than ever before.” is needed. yes!
No one has mentioned the hotel lobby or homeless. I think visitors are staying away due to the lack of value in hotels (i.e. resort fees, parking fees, a/c fees, etc.) more than not feeling welcomed. Of course hotel owners don’t want SVRs, they want more resort fees!
Even more shocking is the growing number of homeless. As a visitor, seeing so many homeless and experiencing some of their aggression – I see a government that does not have a grasp on things. If they can’t address homeless, how are they equipped to handle affordable housing, climate change, push-back on hotel lobby, etc.
The Mayor careless about Maui or the people.. Cost as gotten out of control. And, it is not because of anything else but Greed. On the behave of the government trash and businesses.
Hi everyone. As the state of Hawaii continuesseparate everything into “The Tribe mentality ‘. I’m 74 yrs old. Came to surf Oahu north side 1966. So 60 yrs later not much elected leadership has been elected to actually run the government with that input. Maybe you should look for a cigar smoking. Drinking politician who gets it done. Sorry Winston Churchill type leadership can provide success for Hawaii. Look for the hard to like political leaders not the usual snowflakes. My vote is for Max Holloway tuff guys .
Aloha John,
I’m like you. Made my first trip to the islands in 1965 as a teenager. Have been coming every year since and have had a timeshare in Princeville for nearly 30 years. I’m 75, and have been to all these places people keep talking about; Tahiti, Southeast Asia, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. All are nice, but definitely not as good as Hawaii. I’m order now and it’s so much easier to fly to Hawaii and enjoy being on exotic US soil with the wonderful Hawaiian people. I pray that these politicians won’t ruin Hawaii for all of the rest of us, Hawaiian residents and tourists alike.
Hope to see you at the beach sometime, Aloha!
Take a drive from Kihei to Kuhalui on Maui. Notice the increasing numbers of junked and abandoned vehicles? How could you not? They are an embarrassing eyesore. Many have been there for years. Now ask yourself can a government that has no pride in or respect for the Aina really be trusted to get anything right?
State tourism won’t recover, housing will not become affordable, and nothing will get better until the people of Hawaii stop voting for the same failed politicians and elect people that care about Hawaii and have a plan for recovery.
Just this morning on Hawaii News Now there was a story about Covid variants being worse than ever. Green will attempt to shut down the state again, more businesses will close, and there will be more animosity towards tourist (who are the bread & butter for Hawaii).
It is time for the tourist like myself to make a stand and vote with our feet and dollars.
If the Maui locals and politicians don’t want us then we should stop coming to the islands.
Unit they wise up and appreciate us or should I say respect us then we will stop visiting . Just like the train that used to be on the west side of Maui the tourist will be long gone and things will never be the same.
Good luck Maui and Hawaii
Tom,
“If the Maui locals and politicians don’t want us then we should stop coming to the islands.
Untitl they wise up and appreciate us or should I say respect us, then we will stop visiting .”
The few who don’t want us will not change—they will just demand bigger welfare checks. And the fools in state/local offices will accommodate them.
No tourist’s means no income which means less jobs. Less state revenue collected and how then could they afford to dispurse bigger assistance checks? You can’t get blood out of a turnip. I would think the taxes would go through the roof and the cost of running a business would be outragous. No customers. Businesses closing and even grocery stores. No jobs equals no income by the state. It goes both ways. No restaurants,grocery stores, means no tourist’s also. If it leads to that what’s the point of even going?
Amen, more than ‘Closet Racism’, when it’s the 49 States they don’t want. It started with Ige taking the County Hotel Taxes for the General Fund, then following the Plan of soaking the Covid fiasco funds, rather then getting people back to work, now this empty suit Green, endemic to One Party Rule, the State Government is what chased away Tourism, after 92 Trips of 7-10 days since 1986, looks like our 2019 will be our farewell.
No tourist means good by big businesses. Hope they lessening for average family tourism doesn’t lead to some of the big chains scaling back the operations (Walmart,Target, and Costco). There is a cause and affect less business means less options .
This is completely heresay, but a friend of mine on-island talked to a Costco executive who said that Costco will close if this bill passes and STRs are reduced to this extent.
Although I wouldn’t completely trust information I obtained this way, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it were true.
well well well. Keep voting these pompous into office. They’ll pander to anybody just to remain in power. They’ll pretend to have very virtious motives only to have only their selfinterest at heart. But sadly nothing will change untilit’s too late. People are very easily persuaded by promishes of free stuff.
Rather than embrace the tourism and improving their infrastructure they resist. They would rather invest in “do not” signs than invest in parking lots, trail improvements, restrooms, sidewalks, etc, etc. Sadly, for Hawaii, there are plenty of places to go in this world that are currently more welcoming and progressive.
My heart just bleeds for all those greedy and wealthy people there who are controlling and/or trying to control the rest of the citizens! Not!!
I have a unit in Lahaina which I have allowed the Red Cross to use for a time for temporary housing. It’s valued at $1 million dollars. But when I came back to it this last Feburary I noticed it was not as clean as when I left it. Even looking around the grounds I noticed a lot of junkie cars that sounded as though they have no muffler. It was like being in Tiajuna. The children were riding their bikes on the pathways meant for walking and leaving trash everywhere. The families have been given a very generous gift by being allowed to occupy our units free of cost but they treat the units and grounds like their old neighborhood. No respect for the owners properties. If I was in need and given such a generous gift I would treat the unit and grounds with great respect and be sure to school my children to do the same. Sadly, many of these families probably lived in rather poor conditions in Lahaina and don’t see a need to change their lifestyle.
Tom,
“No respect for the owners properties.”
No respect for themselves and a high level of envy.
I’m only talking about those that you identified, not the vast majority of folks. But, it’s those who make it bad for all.
Sorry Hawaii. You made your bed and now you must sleep in it. I honestly think that the State of Hawaii’s education system is so bad that they have no idea of basic economics. Hawaii’s only source of income is tourism. They don’t export anything. Yet they constantly punish tourists with their insane price gouging. Good luck. Hawaii will soon be broke.
We visited maui in Feb and Hawaii in May. We felt welcome and enjoyed both stays. The homeless was visible in maui but understandable because of fire. Maui was extremely more expensive than last year but Hawaii was reasonable. It’s sad for the people who rely on tourism but if prices come down I think it will bring them back. If Hawaiians don’t change their government it will take longer than 2027 to recover. Right now politicians are for themselves and don’t care about the people who elect them.
The clearly inexperienced local politicians seem not to realize that tourist cash is very portable. It goes where it is appreciated and finds reasonable value. Hawaii has never been a ‘budget / low cost’ destination, and attracts more affluent visitors. Although many can afford the crazy high prices, when the perception moves to being gouged, and not appreciated, we ‘vote with our feet’ and go elsewhere. In my case, that’s a sunny Asian winter destination.
Fishing For Housing was necessary to bring light to the issue of over development/tourism. Investors/speculators both foreign/domestic have long been creating hotel like STR/bnbs for self profit within neighborhood communities leaving nothing available for workforce residents or Family. Overdevelopment encouraged hordes to relocate to Maui who also faced unfortunate living conditions. Living in a hotel wasn’t a choice. Grateful for a roof, life could not duplicate what was lost in a disaster that was caused by negligence, water diversion for the tourist industry forced upon us. Many current ‘campers’ were indigents who where not fire survivors, rather those who arrived from the mainland on a 1-way flight.
There is some truth to this… but locals need to remember that it was the local government and elected officials that allowed this to happen, don’t hate on the people that stayed within the law to purchase rental properties.
The other issue I see is the ammount of division that Lahaina Strong/Fishing For Housing/others have caused by directing their frustration in part toward visitors instead of holding elected officials accountable for the laws they have passed and their ineptitude that allowed this to happen.
“water diversion for the tourist industry forced upon us”
No. The water manager withheld water so he could determine if the use would be “Equitable”.
Be careful… the Lahaina Strong group and other local “activists” don’t like facts. Joking aside… you are correct, the fact that he withheld water was was covered in the news and he stated this himself.
Absolutely ridiculous, even though he felt it wouldn’t help, in an emergency like that nothing should be held back and left to one persons likely biased decision.
What you describe is an issue here in San Diego as well. Nearly 80% of the homeless population is not from here. We are, literally, attracting them.
Here is my attempt to counteract negative messaging that makes visitors feel unwanted. I appreciate you, not just because your stay at my STR allows me to live in Hawaii as a retiree. I appreciate you because you remind me of how I once vowed to never miss a sunset, to never be watching TV when the sun laid its golden silver path along the water and dropped from sight. You remind me to catch my breath when I see Haleakala wearing her skirts of mist. You remind me to hike through a forest and feel tired and sweaty, and not just get tired and sweaty looking for a place to park at Walmart. You are supremely special because you appreciate Maui, and for that, I will always hold you in the highest regard. Mahalo, friend.
I love it. Maybe we should develop a “Visitor Appreciation” campaign and messaging in which we spread true aloha, as you have above. What a novel concept!
That was absolutely beautiful. Hawaii is my happy place especially Maui. If we open our eyes to see beauty that is what we will find, peace, tranquility, and love. I was blessed to live on Maui from 1979 to 1990
Can’t wait to visit again
Our family of 9 were annual visitors to Hawaii until 2021. While we never felt or experienced any anti-visitor sentiment and always felt welcome, the hotel prices and to a lesser extent food prices sent us to other destinations. We paid reasonable hotel prices; reasonable air fare; reasonable food prices; and did not pay one cent in resort fees or parking fees.
I love Maui, but my last big vacation was to French Polynesia. It was wonderful. The people were so sweet and kind, and the environment was beyond insanely beautiful. Expensive? Yes, but I’d do it again. I’m already saving for my next Tahiti trip and slowly learning basic French. Sorry Maui, but you sort of alienated me with fees to visit the bleeping beach. I’m not saying that I’m gone forever, but in the short term I’m saving up for that awesome trip to the Southern Hemisphere or hiking in Europe. I love Maui, but its just not worth it right now. I’ll get a lot more bang for my buck elsewhere, and likely be treated better, too.
Hey Hawaii and Governor, as the famous adage says: “Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true.” — a truism originated from Aesops Fables, the world’s best-known collection of morality tales. I sincerely fear that Hawaii’s short-sightedness will come back an bight them where it hurts most; — their own wallets.
Mauians want to limit tourism, but continue electing officials who support and approve:
– luxury condo developments, like the one that took over much of the public beach parking near Keawala’i Congregational Church. Nice job giving public land to a private concern!
– lengthen the existing runway at OGG to allow larger and heavier aircraft with more tourists aboard to operate. We’re not talking about a runway resurfacing or repair, no, this is a runway enlargement.
– a massive rental car facility at the airport. While I will admit that it made my last visit much easier, it also means more and more tourists with cars on the road, a net increase in visitors.
There’s obviously so much more. Basically, for an island that wants to limit tourism, they sure have an odd way of going about it.
Writer “katf” states the facts. The anti-tourism sentiment is extremely nearsighted & will impact the locals lives negatively in ways they’re unable to foresee until it is too late.
I agree, but doesn’t common sense come into play here? Surely the complainers, anti main landers understand that without the tourists, there is just living with no jobs. Then who pays? I am at the point in my life where I can finally afford to take a couple weeks a year in Hawaii, but I don’t want to go where I am not welcome.
CCM,
I hope you come to Maui! The online haters rarely leave their rooms. (There is even the possibility they are not from Hawaii, but just piling on something they heard). The people you would meet on the beach or at restaurants would be very welcoming.
Governments and politicians are reactive.
They don’t have the ability to proactively manage situations like this.
While it may make you feel better to blame these problems on
the people of Hawaii and their elected representatives,
it doesn’t solve anything.
We have cancelled our planned trip due to soaring inflation and lack of Aloha spirt we see coming out of the state of Hawaii . That said we feel it would be unsafe to travel to any state or country that supports or sides with terrorist and will be staying on the mainland for the first time in 20 years and not visiting our beloved Hawaii. Hopefully the officals in Hawaii will come to their senses and support the victims of the fire and realize tourism is their friend and not their enemy
So Missin Bissen’s press conference to announce his intention to eliminate 7,000 STRs in the next year to 18 months was just “reactive?” He’s not responsible for people cancelling their vacation plans, because who wants to find out their airbnb has been cancelled at the last minute and they have nowhere to stay? He made the announcement with pregnant women and little kids and the County’s Planning Director (so much for neutrality on a topic of public concern). And Bissen is missing once more – not available on the day of the fire, and not available to defend his foolish plans that will lead to his defeat in court, an expense borne by Maui taxpayers, not him personally, of course. Maui voters, please remember Keani Rawlins-Fernandez believes no one should be able to own two homes if “someone” needs one of them.