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19 thoughts on “Where Hawaii Visitors Stand In Gov. Green’s Big Travel Mess”

  1. Firstly the “Secret Meeting” that was held, and which Ige and other Officials attended, Violates the Sunshine Law/Act. Secondly, drawn up Two individual Contracts and Award Each to the Entity that Best can handle the Requirements. Thirdly the individual contracts should have language and a funding mechanism to “Educate and Cross Train” members of the Hawaiian Council to gain knowledge and needed expertise. It’s Not a perfect solution, however, it would Better Serve the State and individual islands of Hawaii. Eventually the Hawaiian Council would gain the Experience necessary to be Awarded the Entire Combined Contract with the assurance that they could completely perform every requirement as specified. Cooperation is necessary!

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  2. “Let’s call it what it is: a very h0t mess, Hawaii-style.”

    Thought you were talking about Mauna Loa for a minute there.

    But seriously, I’m anxious to here what’s happening here as my future Hawaii travel plans depend heavily on the outcome.

    Thanks for keeping us updated.

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    1. Hi Mike.

      Thanks. Those of us who live here, and others like you, are interested in this. Most visitors, however, are not. There were more than 10x more comments on yesterday’s article about Southwest’s boarding test compared with this.

      Aloha.

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  3. This is the perfect example of a bureaucratic menagerie that in this day of social media & the internet is obsolete. Hawaii funded travel bureaus are little more than a dumping ground for corrupt political patronage or worse, in my opinion.
    Here’s an idea! Close them all down and watch the private sector step up & have targeted markets & demographics visit the islands. You could stop 100 percent of tourism advertising tomorrow and the visitors will still come. Hawaii is that beautiful, that unique.
    Those hotels & resorts with resources to promote themselves will do so – they don’t need help from the State. Private entities that support eco-tourism and conservation will still do what they do best and Hawaii will be all the better for it

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    1. Imagine what $70 million could have done towards building Affordable Housing! Then moving forward since that how much more money has been Budgeted that could have been applied to Building additional Affordable Housing? Does Hawaii really need a Budget of this size every year? No! As you’ve pointed out the Resorts and Hotels alone can Afford to promote Hawaiian Vacations so let them! Build Affordable Housing, that benefits Hawaiians directly!

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  4. Hawaii doesn’t need any intermediaries or over paid representatives. Hawaii’s reputation speaks for itself among the global tourism population. Get rid of all of that and I doubt the tourism numbers will drop one iota. Hawaii’s place on the global tourism stage was set decades ago, and will continue to thrive decades into the future without these political machinations.

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    1. Gov. Green wanted $50 per tourist fee to reduce number of tourists, now he wants to advertise for tourist. Guess money has changed his opinions. Didn’t take long as today is his swearing in.

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      1. Typical big government bureaucrat, always have to do something to justify their job. “We should put a tax to reduce it, wait no we should be subsidizing it.”

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        1. Aren’t those non committed commitments wonderful? Was that the Soft Shoe Shuffle to begin a Four Year Stint, can Anyone imagine what the rest of the Term will be like?

  5. Local cable channel advertising has recently featured cultural and natural ways that travelers can participate in malama aina. Away from the standard beach resort appeal from the past, these spots are spot on. Perhaps intended for island audiences, doe anyone know if these are produced by HTA? If so, the tone is a welcome change in direction from the past Hawaii as “Disneyland” appeals.

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    1. I would be weary of what They will be selling Hawaiian Vacations as next. Perhaps Universal Studios will suddenly be alive with the Aloha Spirit on each of the islands. They Need something to draw the “Reduced” overcrowding in, maybe Marvel characters roaming around can do that, give them time and Money and eventually they’ll get the Perfect Mix.

  6. Your article depicts Gov. Josh Green as an emergency room physician. He is not an ER physician. Dr. Green is a family practice physician who has ER experience.

  7. I got it. “…they received, last year alone, some $70M in grants. That is over now, and this deal represents the light at the end of the tunnel, it seems.” This “deal”, in fact, represents the fact that the Biden trillion $ hand out during COVID gave CNHA money they would not normally have, nor ever had, to continue their work. Now they want to take over a responsibility they are unprepared for but in the spirit of “let’s accommodate anyone who ever was minimized in our entire history,” we’ll give them this responsibility so ou conscious is clear. Only problem, they have no clue on how to operate. Require leaders from both orgs sit down and designate a couple members from CNHA board to the HVCB board. Get along, or no $ for either.

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  8. it seems to me that some very rich people are trying to make it worse on those of us who are not rich and want to come to hawaii and also not helping the local community either. I hope to return one day but with all the fee proposals etc it may be a long time before I return as much as I want to

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    1. When/If you return some day in the future the Drama will undoubtedly still be going strong, once they’ve managed to eliminate the competition the Feeding Frenzy won’t be too far behind. They will feed on their own to increase profits and reduce the competition one by one. That’s about the time Council won’t be seeing extra pay but expected to support the cause for free. That will be something to see! I want front row seats for that inevitable show.

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