Hawaii’s tourism plans are in real trouble. Read why.
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Aloha! I believe the link in your email about this article is broken – it gives me a mailchimp error. I wasn’t sure how else to let you know.. not sure if anyone else was affected by it!
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Mahalo again for all of the great articles.
Hi Jessica.
Thanks for letting us know. We have not heard any reports of problems. Please let us know if that happens again.
Aloha.
this is a beaurocracy getting in the way of money. So the state of Hawaii is going to turn away people who wish to travel there. Impossible. people haters.
Here a plan that would actually reduce the number of arrivals while making tourists spend enough money to pay for the true cost of hosting them.
1. The State must raise the room taxes radically. Start with 25% and adjust it as necessary to achieve the maximum benefit to Hawaii.
2. Raise car rental fees to 100%. Adjust higher if needed. In 2019 there was an average 125,000 rental cars on the road on any given day.
3. Use a portion of revenues for diversification of the economy.
4. No STR’s
Paul,
So, another plan to have businesses collect even more money for the state. Then the renter is presented with the outrageous bill, s/he blames the car company or hotel. Make Hawaii affordable for only the well-off. When the tourists disappear, some future governor will be crying for their return.
Before the people should pay even one dime in additional taxes the state needs to prove that they are getting the most bang for the buck with the tax dollars they already handle.
A few more ideas:
5. Impose blame for economy cratering on tourist being uncouth and too cheap.
6. Eliminate tourism related government positions and employees.
7. Have Hawaii’s Congressional delegation grovel for federal bailout money.
8. Ignore third world conditions expanding under the H-1 and H-3 overpasses and in abandoned vans on the North Shore highway.
9. Hold weekly sacrifices to global businesses to encourage their investment in Hawaii’s economy within the next 50 years.
Once again, make it even more for the rich and powerful? If you believe in equality then it would include vacation access for all classes of people. A $10,000 Hawaii vacation is not achievable by most Americans. I believe if you sell or tax Aloha you will kill Hawaii tourism. Remember that the Hawaiian Renaissance was built upon tourists making Hawaiian music and fashion popular, thereby making it profitable for artists and musicians throughout the Aloha State!
I actually agree with some of these ideas.
Limit the visitors and the experience will be better for tourists, locals and the aina.
With limited hotel rooms prices can be adjusted higher to make up the lost revenue from lower numbers. If VRBOs are limited then mainlanders can sell those homes so we have more residences for our own people.
Those that can’t afford the increase can go visit Mexico, Costa Rica or other places they keep threatening to go to but still end up back here. 😂
This is perhaps the most elitist statement that I have heard since “Let them eat cake”. What a great idea! Hawaii is only for the rich folks and the rest of you can just watch the islands from your Caribbean hotel.
Do you complain about elitism because a room at the Ritz Carlton BVI is $800/night? Is it your given right as an American to stay there? The price will be decided by those who pay (or not).
As usually Hawaii politicians bite off more than they can chew at the expense ofeveryone. Can’t fix stupid… I’m
so sad.
UHERO? Sounds like another government bureaucracy manned by clueless clones sitting on there laptops. I’m afraid that the islands will become the playground for the Zuckerburg-Larry Ellison “progressive” crowd. The working-class mainlander who just wants to soak up some rays and do some snorkeling will become dinosaurs.
We’ve always wanted to see Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore & Crazy Horse Memorials, and Little Big Horn. I’m sure that we’ll be welcomed with open arms. Hawaii, not so much.
Exactly!
“The number one goal stated in HTA’s plan is to reduce tourism.”
Hawaii seems to be starting out in this endeavor very well.
It will be interesting to watch what occurs as Hawaii reduces the feed allotment for its non-government subsidized one trick pony economy.
Aloha,I always appreciate your insight.Hawaii is already at the top of my budget. If they limit tourists in any way, it will be out of my budget as well as a lot of other folks.I am glad I have had the opportunity to visit numerous times over the past 13 years. I feel that opportunity will come to an end if it gets much more expensive. But, that being said, I do feel something has to be done to decrease the impact of tourists. It is more and more crowded every time we go. Mahalo.
Hi Tammy.
Thanks for your many contents and your feedback on this.
Aloha.
In the 19080s, I was in Ohau, Hawaii and Kauai on business trip and on my return flight to the states I sat next to a pilot for Aloha Airlines. He stated that the focus was on alluring Japanese to the islands, then the economy in Japan tanked. The refocus was to the mainland to bring visitors. Aloha Airlines failed. Tourism is what your economy is built on. I am not sure there is anything that the islands have to offer other than tourism.
Ditto, from ’86-’06, 75 Business/Pleasure trips, since then annually, Lux Hotels, Rental Cars, Dining, Tips, I think all got fat on the Federal $ to Stay-Home, without Tourism Hawaiian Airlines is 75% smaller, ‘Kamaaina Rates’ for Locals, were the result of Tourists paying top $, and the shorter margins of Dining and Hotels a give back to Locals, but underwritten by the gross profits on Tourists! Ige was over his head with the ’19 Nuclear Attack Warning in Waikiki, this just further exposed it!
Sigh. Another day in Hawaii government…it’s all about keeping friends and relative’s employed, rather than planning for the future and managing to plan. Same old dance, different song. I hope that the government agencies that do control resources allocated to tourism work to make life better for us residents, rather than just shrugging and looking the other way as Oahu growth continues to spiral far beyond control.