Hawaii “Does Not Encourage Visiting:” Waikiki, Diamond Head, Volcanoes, Poipu, Etc.

[artringwald]

From the Beat of Hawaii:

The state’s Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) announced that their latest publication, the Ma’ema’e Toolkit, has been released. So we dove into the 64-page document, which you can read below. “Ma’ema’e” means cleanliness and purity in the Hawaiian language. And it references that Hawaii should be portrayed as “clean, attractive, and pure.”

While that’s excellent in theory, some of the places they suggest not visiting or tagging in social media include most of Kauai, famous Waikiki Beach, Volcanoes National Park, and more. There are 67 places on the list below, many of which are fundamental to why people come to Hawaii. We wonder what the hotels along Waikiki Beach, for one, are thinking when they read this.

Hawaii "Does Not Encourage Visiting:" Waikiki, Diamond Head, Volcanoes, Poipu, Etc.

There's no way this will be anything but fuel for the fire of Hawaii tourism's makeover.

beatofhawaii.com

 

[ScoopKona]

People really need to understand that government agencies contradict each other. Take the state lottery. Any state which has a lottery will have a lottery commission which is shoveling scratch-offs into low-income neighborhoods. And they will have a Dept. of Heath and Human Services which is vehemently against this practice.

Who's right?

Well, that really depends on how someone feels about exploiting the poor to subsidize state taxes.

And it's the same in Hawaii. We have tourism development councils which would cheerfully burn the islands down if it meant making more money. And we have environmental protection groups who are against that.

The big picture problem is that nothing is going to generate interest quite like putting places on a restricted list. The only way to fix this is to reduce visitor numbers.

 

[easyrider]

Tourism and wealthy mainlanders relocating to Hawaii has improved the economy of Hawaii but hasn't improved the economic conditions for those that have lived in Hawaii for generations. Most generational Hawaiians are being forced out by price.

There really isn't anything that can change the situation for generational Hawaiians or Indigenous populations at this point. The only thing left to protect is the environment as many of the younger generations relocate to the mainland, imo. Allowing Indigenous populations the ability to own Casinos to exploit tourism would be a game changer.

Bill

https://uhero.hawaii.edu/legalizing-casino-gaming-to-fund-homes-for-native-hawaiians/

 

[lynne]

Who Pockets Hawaii Visitors' Money May Surprise You

You may be surprised by who owns what and where your Hawaii vacation money actually goes. Hawaii visitors take note.

beatofhawaii.com

 

[artringwald]

Who Pockets Hawaii Visitors' Money May Surprise You

You may be surprised by who owns what and where your Hawaii vacation money actually goes. Hawaii visitors take note.

beatofhawaii.com

I'd be glad to pay more accomodations tax if it's really used to help the local economy.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Here on Maui you see cars abandoned on the side of the road, some burned and trashed. It is not the vacationers doing this. Also graffiti on the rocks is also not something visitors are doing.

Keeping things nice is not a visitor issue, it's a locals issue. People don't pay airfare and hotel to come and destroy anything.

 

[slip]

Here on Maui you see cars abandoned on the side of the road, some burned and trashed. It is not the vacationers doing this. Also graffiti on the rocks is also not something visitors are doing.

Keeping things nice is not a visitor issue, it's a locals issue. People don't pay airfare and hotel to come and destroy anything.

Abandoned cars are a problem on all the islands. I saw an Abandoned car in a parking place on the block where I worked. The car was missing a tire. I noticed that car on my first day and it was still there on my last day 3 years later.

 

[ScoopKona]

Here on Maui you see cars abandoned on the side of the road, some burned and trashed. It is not the vacationers doing this. Also graffiti on the rocks is also not something visitors are doing.

Keeping things nice is not a visitor issue, it's a locals issue. People don't pay airfare and hotel to come and destroy anything.

Of course they do. They put on reef-bleaching sunscreen and are trashing the reef. They outnumber locals -- so all their waste is going into landfills. They litter. Their effluent is just as bad as local effluent. And there is more of it. And they can't see past the end of their nose to even think about the stress they're putting on the islands.

The locals who abandon cars and appliances suck, too. They do it because every other option costs money here. We PAY recycling companies to take our junk, after all. And none of it is welcome at the local dumps.

This is not an either-or problem -- far too many members of both groups are behaving badly.

 

[easyrider]

Here on Maui you see cars abandoned on the side of the road, some burned and trashed. It is not the vacationers doing this. Also graffiti on the rocks is also not something visitors are doing.

Keeping things nice is not a visitor issue, it's a locals issue. People don't pay airfare and hotel to come and destroy anything.

Part of the problem with vehicles in Hawaii is the cost of registration and problems with title transfers which include safety inspections that can take months. I know people that have moved to the mainland that just left their cars to be impounded because they ran out of time and their cars were not worth the costs of transfer so no one would buy them. Often times these are taken by joy riders having their fun.

Bill

 

[slip]

Part of the problem with vehicles in Hawaii is the cost of registration and problems with title transfers which include safety inspections that can take months. I know people that have moved to the mainland that just left their cars to be impounded because they ran out of time and their cars were not worth the costs of transfer so no one would buy them. Often times these are taken by joy riders having their fun.

Bill

I never heard of the Safety Inspections taking months? You just make an appointment at any repair shop that does them. In general it takes about 10 minutes. Some places don't even require an appointment. Here on Molokai ours takes less than 5 minutes. It's not the most thorough inspection.

 

[easyrider]

I never heard of the Safety Inspections taking months? You just make an appointment at any repair shop that does them. In general it takes about 10 minutes. Some places don't even require an appointment. Here on Molokai ours takes less than 5 minutes. It's not the most thorough inspection.

It depends on how old and decrepit your vehicle is. I doubt that newer vehicles have any problems to repair. To register a vehicle I was told the safety check must pass which often reveal problems that can cost more than the car is worth.

Bill

 

[slip]

It depends on how old and decrepit your vehicle is. I doubt that newer vehicles have any problems to repair. To register a vehicle I was told the safety check must pass which often reveal problems that can cost more than the car is worth.

Bill

Yes, that is a problem but you have to keep your vehicle road safe. There are always cases of people putting off basic maintenance. You have to fix anything that would cause the vehicle to fail the inspection. They are mostly looking at lights, brakes and exhaust. Most places will fix any infractions right away or with another appointment. Of course, there is a cost involved.

Just like anywhere though, if you don't want to fix it, you still have to discard the vehicle but like most things, this is also more expensive in Hawaii.

The registrations in Hawaii go by vehicle weight. In Wisconsin ours was a flat $76 annually(that was the price 4 years ago). In Hawaii our Jeep Compass is $325 annually.

I took your post to say that the inspection can take months.

 

[easyrider]

I took your post to say that the inspection can take months.

I probably should have said it can take months to receive a passing inspection because of repairs needed to pass unless you know someone.

Bill

 

[slip]

I probably should have said it can take months to receive a passing inspection because of repairs needed to pass unless you know someone.

Bill

No worries, I get your point and there is a point where it's not worth it to fix.

 

[lynne]

The safety check is not very thorough - basically they check that the lights, brake lights, windshield wipers and tires are road worthy. The entire process does only take 10 minutes. If your vehicle cannot pass the Hawaii Safety check, it should not take month's to fix and retest.

 

[slip]

The safety check is not very thorough - basically they check that the lights, brake lights, windshield wipers and tires are road worthy. The entire process does only take 10 minutes. If your vehicle cannot pass the Hawaii Safety check, it should not take month's to fix and retest.

Ours was definitely more thorough on Oahu but that probably varies by the business conducting the check. Even though there is a checklist of things that they all should entail.

 

[ScoopKona]

The safety check is not very thorough - basically they check that the lights, brake lights, windshield wipers and tires are road worthy. The entire process does only take 10 minutes. If your vehicle cannot pass the Hawaii Safety check, it should not take month's to fix and retest.

The worst possible scenario is a broken windshield. Those *can* take a minute to ship from the mainland. And they can be prohibitively expensive to do so.

That being said, the five-oh doesn't seem to much care about registration problems. They'll tack it on to a DUI or a speeding ticket, sure. But they aren't targeting registration issues. At least not in my area.

 

[slip]

The worst possible scenario is a broken windshield. Those *can* take a minute to ship from the mainland. And they can be prohibitively expensive to do so.

That being said, the five-oh doesn't seem to much care about registration problems. They'll tack it on to a DUI or a speeding ticket, sure. But they aren't targeting registration issues. At least not in my area.

I don't think they are targeting them here on Molokai either.

This thread reminds me that I should get my safety check tomorrow.

 

[klpca]

From the Beat of Hawaii:

The state’s Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) announced that their latest publication, the Ma’ema’e Toolkit, has been released. So we dove into the 64-page document, which you can read below. “Ma’ema’e” means cleanliness and purity in the Hawaiian language. And it references that Hawaii should be portrayed as “clean, attractive, and pure.”

While that’s excellent in theory, some of the places they suggest not visiting or tagging in social media include most of Kauai, famous Waikiki Beach, Volcanoes National Park, and more. There are 67 places on the list below, many of which are fundamental to why people come to Hawaii. We wonder what the hotels along Waikiki Beach, for one, are thinking when they read this.

Hawaii "Does Not Encourage Visiting:" Waikiki, Diamond Head, Volcanoes, Poipu, Etc.

There's no way this will be anything but fuel for the fire of Hawaii tourism's makeover.

beatofhawaii.com

I'm all for not geotagging. It creates too much impact on places that can't sustain that much traffic. Social media has caused a lot of problems. If you want to see those places, figure it out on your own.

 

[1Melanie]

as the Young Rascals so famously sang about in the early 70s, these Islands are magical. It’s no wonder people want to visit. As a native and former resident now residing on the mainland, what has become of our homeland is a travesty. People are not destroying it. Greed and corrupt government together with big business is doing all that for us. Our people struggle for survival there. The old way of life is no more. People work two or more jobs to make ends meet unless they, like I did, leave the Islands to realize the American dream of good paying jobs, home ownership and quality of life for ourselves and our families. Now that we can afford to return, what do we return to? A city that is overbuilt with a crumbling infrastructure, unless you are willing to live outer Island or on the Ewa Plains which was considered undesirable when I was growing up.
My entire family has worked at one time or another in the hospitality industry. I enjoyed meeting our visitors who came from everywhere. It was because of meeting some of these people that I was encouraged to go outside the bounds of my comfort zone. Sadly many of the folks employed in the industry are resentful and lose sight of the fact that their livelihood depends on our visitors. Most are respectful and curious about our Islands and culture. As a frequent traveler myself, I’m the same. I go to places on the continental US and abroad where I’m sure I’m resented too but I am curious and love history. I will continue exploring with respect and concern for the people and places I visit along the way.
Our government and business put out ridiculous restrictions in the name of environment protection. I often wonder where those concerns were when they built their huge hotels and buildings on swamp lands or roads close to the ocean? People are so arrogant to think humans can control what Mother Nature has been doing since before we existed and will continue to do long after we’re gone.
As timeshare owners, we have the right and responsibility to enjoy what we worked so hard to own while creating memories while learning about the rich histories of the places we visit along the way, for ourselves and our loved ones.

 

[Kapolei]

Hawaii is dangerous, everything is dirty, the people suck …. Stay away.

 

[1Melanie]

Hawaii is dangerous, everything is dirty, the people suck …. Stay away.

Ouch! Sadly it has become true. It’s like a third world country in some parts. You have to look beyond that to see the beauty and rich cultural history.

 

[Luanne]

Ouch! Sadly it has become true. It’s like a third world country in some parts. You have to look beyond that to see the beauty and rich cultural history.

I think @Kapolei was being sarcastic.

 

[Kapolei]

I think @Kapolei was being sarcastic.

yeh, kind of like …

q: how is the surf over there?
a: total crap brah