68% of all Hawaii visitors used to be return guests. Here’s why thats changing.
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428 thoughts on “Why Hawaii’s Repeat Visitors Aren’t Returning – Does Anyone Care?”
68% of all Hawaii visitors used to be return guests. Here’s why thats changing.
My wife and I have been coming back to Hawaii for 24 years and we will not be able to return due to the very high cost and forcing a 90 day rental in the Kahala area .also the very high taxes. We love Hawaii but hopefully prices and taxes will go down for visitors
I have been visiting
Hawaii since the 70’s.
I think this might possibly be the last year for me. It is just to expensive to even consider staying more than a week. Inflation, energy prices, food and fuel are out of sight for the average person Nd family.
I am one of those repeat visitors to both Maui and the Big Island. Having traveled there many times over the past 15 years I have experienced all the good and all the bad of being a tourist there. I also own a home in a heavily touristed area of Oregon where on the weekend we can see the population swell from around 10k to over 35k just from tourist! What the feels like is terrible and while this usually only goes on for about 7-8 months out of the year I can only imagine how tiring year round tourist must be. That being said I hope the folks who are now in charge of developing some new future for tourism also have ideas about how to bring other work to the islands for the people who live there.
To Alan M. You’re spot on with what you’ve said. Local Government can set limits on New Construction to slow the growth and also control blighted properties. Affordable Housing should be a small percentage of any new construction. Removing the Homeless that have invaded the State should be an immediate. Police should be enforcing the laws including littering and vagrant laws. States refuse to take actions like those that are needed and problems worsen with time.
Oahu, and probably every Island of Hawaii, has become a haven for the indigent population of other States. Hawaii tried offering free tickets back, pretty much to no avail. This time they should check identification and establish residency requirements, sources of income, then give them the ticket and escort to the plane! These people are the Largest Sources of garbage, bad living conditions, Taxpayer’s Money Waste, Insults and Other Problems involving Tourists and More. Send them back to where they came with Nothing but a Tan to show for it!
Prior to the Monorail System moving forward I remember the Hope and Hype that preceeded it. A Joint Business and Government Venture with most of the funding being private sector investments. Now the New Special Tax is enacted to help fund it. What happened along the way to make this a necessity? The HNL Tax will certainly effect Tourists Pockets as if they don’t pay enough already. When finished hopefully it will be worth the price and wait, time will tell. Anyone figure in the Current Pricing for ridership yet? Inflation surely has made it at least 40% more costly!
We stayed two weeks in May and we will probably skip next years trip to Lahaina and go somewhere else instead. Maui is completely overcrowded. My wife and I could not walk side by side along the Kaanapali Beach Walk. It felt like Fith Ave in NY and in addition we were constantly pushed aside by some humping and pumping sweaty jogger yelling at us to make space. Restaurants are overcrowded and wait staff is overworked. I am to spend $300-$400 for a dinner for two, there should be some enjoyment and quality. For the first time we experienced a sharp drop in quality combined with a spike in prices. So, we take a break for a year and see how it is in 2024. We really miss our 5 week stay in October and November 2020!
We visited Hawaii annually for nearly 40 years. We have two main reasons not to return. One is because it is crowded. And, I found the complaints by a massage therapist, during my massage, about tourists completely inappropriate and poorly timed. The second main reason is the governor did not allow passengers from our cruise ship to disembark when our cruise was affected by the pandemic in March 2020. It was especially irritating because tourists were still flying in during that time, and the day after our ship left, another ship disembarked more than twice as many passengers as were on our ship. There were no cases of COVID on our ship . . . in fact it was the healthiest cruise we’ve ever had.
Hi Jacquie, we’ve vacationed on Oahu many times and only this past February have we encountered any kind of questionable behavior from any Hawaiian. Even then it was more perception than actual problem which led me to Ask if it was okay for Us to be on the Island. We were told that we were okay, we were at least nice and respectful, didn’t toss garbage on the ground. If that’s what it takes to keep the Peace, a little Respect and Courtesy, what’s so hard about that? I could have been Ignorant.
Since 1978 we have made 11 trips to Hawaii.. That includes 6 trips to Kauai. Last month in May we were 3 weeks in Kauai. We are one that may not go back. This trip I received a vulgar note on my car telling me to go home and don’t come back. It was on the back of a Target receipt. I was parked legally near Brennecke’s beach. We spent $1,575.18 at restaurants and $405.07 at Safeway and Costco food items. We just like world class restaurants….We always come back with great local pictures…
I can personally tell you that it’s not over tourism that the Hawaiian movement is against mainland Americans.. when covid hit the island of Kauai was deserted there was maybe one 100th of the tourism left on the island in May when I was still there there were still signs of tourism go home you are not welcome here this is the mentality you have to deal with and correct otherwise tourism will stop. I had first-hand experience witnessing in May during covid of a group of native Hawaiians accosting a family of four telling them to get off the island it’s not their Island it is our Island. They were just enjoying the beach bothering no one they will not return..
Thomas L, what you have described is an unsatisfactory and unlawful group of Flunkies that should have been spending the day being Processed and Arraigned. It’s that type of antics that will cause a loss of Tourism Dollars and Jobs, possibly even more than they expect. Violence isn’t the answer. Should have dialed 911 and teach them a lesson. I can better understand the problem Tourists face in certain areas of the State now. Time for Law Enforcement to step up and do their part.