Hawaii’s tourism plans are in real trouble. Read why.
167 thoughts on “Hawaii’s Tourism Plans Marooned Again, Mired in Latest Controversy”
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Why not just do away with the Hawaii tourism authority all together and save that multi million dollar budget. Why produce flyers, videos, TV commercials etc when most residents and Hawaiian politicians don’t really want the tourists because all we do is destroy the islands but you sure do love our money. How soon Hawaii forgets how the streets were when Covid hit, yeah they were nice and empty but the shops/restaurants etc couldn’t survive. Be careful what you wish for.
Hawaii is becoming a destination for the rich only! Having vacationed on Maui for several years it is the self entitled rich people who do not respect Hawaii. From leaving garbage on the beach, to walking on the coral, to disrespecting residents. No wonder Hawaii residents have had enough. By making Hawaii accessible only for the wealthy, they will have an even bigger problem down the road. The self entitled are all about me. Be careful what you wish for. I will be considering going elsewhere.
On the contrary, we saw an extreme change in tourist quality when Southwest and other airlines started offering extremely cheap flights. These tourists started renting u-hauls because they were cheaper than cars leaving locals without options. These are the ones who scream loudest that we should appreciate their money. What money? Most of your vacation expense goes to mainland corporations and very little stays in Hawaii. We saw reefs come back to life during Covid and the aina repair itself.
they rented uhauls because the rental car companies shipped their cars to the mainland, no cars were available. I bet you don’t mind spending your $$ in Vegas, you know the 9th island!
We love to visit Hawaii; especially Kauai & the Big Island. When we come, we don’t stay in the ritzy resorts but own in resorts that allow us to enjoy the local area. We hike & explore, we swim & snorkel, we lay in the sun & read a book, we enjoy sunrises & sunsets, & appreciate the time we have there. We treat the locals as we want to be treated & we love the Hawaiian history & culture. We love eating at small local restaurants supporting these businesses. Sad to see & hear these comments.
Yes, it’s sad to hear so many angry people. Not being sarcastic, I sure hope they do, indeed, not return to the islands.
Sad days.
HTA lol more positions made for the useless children of politicians where nepotism and chronyism runs rampant. Do you really need these?
I agree, what HTA has been doing in the past has been ineffective. But I think that UHERO is underestimating the difficulty involved in what UHERO is proposing as a “solution”. Governance across stakeholders with conflicting interests isn’t easy. Without the teeth that UHERO refers to, the ability of HTA to implement Any plan is going to crash on the rocks of those competing interests and injecting More politics isn’t going to help.
An ongoing concern is that tourists, as the lifeblood of Hawaii’s economy, are regarded as cash cows where resort fees and taxation appear to have no limits. It is expensive to get to Hawaii and expensive to stay there and as the world opens up there are those–me included–who may reconsider travel plans to Hawaii, especially when tourists are not treated with the aloha they expect but rather as burdens to be tolerated in exchange for money. Any tourist board will need to consider these
All this talk about the HTA or whatever you are on about is irrelevant to the average joe’s decision to vacation in Hawaii. Price is the number one factor that will drive supply and demand to the islands. I personally loved it during this past December, it was perfect, like being in Hawaii during the 70s – not crowded at all as all the restrictions were in place. It was a nice change. No international tourists, and no yahoos, it was glorious.
Trying to tent a place for a month. Beyond the other costs we are paying 900 taxes. We are there and spend a lot of money usually. This cuts our budget so we don’t spend as much with the local businesses. I don’t get it.
After reading this article I am still clueless as to just what “tourism governance” really is. Are they talking about better ways to promote Hawaii tourism or are they talking about setting new rules, regulations, fines, taxes and fees for tourists? If they want to reduce the number of tourists, just continue to do the latter. Before long they will get what they wish for, and as we all know, granted wishes can come back to haunt you for a very long time.
Hawaii as of late, seems so out of touch with tourism. They are implementing or raising rates on tourists for everything. They are going to price themselves out of tourists. Their Covid-19 requirements were changed so often on every Island that you couldn’t keep up with what was required. There was no single unity requirement for all shot verifications. If they keep adding charges to tourists they will lose my visitation trips. The government of Hawaii needs to get there priorities straight!