KALAPAKI BEACH — When visitors are asked why they chose Kaua‘i for their summer vacations, sometimes they respond with a question of their own. “Why would you want to go anywhere else?” asked Rob Simons of Alpine, Utah, whose in-laws
KALAPAKI BEACH — When visitors are asked why they chose Kaua‘i for their summer vacations, sometimes they respond with a question of their own.
“Why would you want to go anywhere else?” asked Rob Simons of Alpine, Utah, whose in-laws own homes in Wailua Homesteads.
He and his family travel to Kaua‘i two or three times a year, and on this trip they enjoyed hiking, kayaking, visiting various beaches, and eating out at Duke’s Canoe Club and other locations, he said.
“It’s a pretty island. We’ve been coming here about 10 years. And I hate Honolulu,” Simons said.
The family flew from Las Vegas directly to Lihu‘e, for around $500 per person, he said. They stayed only on this island during their vacation.
A honeymooning couple rushing to catch a flight back home after spending a few nights at the Kaua‘i Marriott Resort & Beach Club here also chose Kaua‘i as their only Hawaiian destination.
First-time visitors, they chose Kaua‘i, and only Kaua‘i, because “it’s Hawai‘i,” said the new wife.
Frequent Kaua‘i visitors Roger and Sandra Brunet, of Fair Oaks, Calif., chose Kaua‘i as their only Hawai‘i destination this trip, though they have visited Maui many times before, also, Roger Brunet said.
This time, they stayed only on Kaua‘i, and only at the Kaua‘i Marriott, where their daughter is attending a pharmaceutical convention. On previous visits, they have stayed in Po‘ipu.
Roger Brunet, 67 and retired, said they have been to Kaua‘i a dozen times, with the summer trip their second this year.
“I always liked it because it’s secluded, more like a garden, picturesque,” he said. O‘ahu looks too much like California for his tastes, he added.
Visitor-industry leaders, vacation-rental proprietors, and activities owners are unanimous in agreement that June jumped, July is scorching, and August looks like another hot month for visitor arrivals.
Margy Parker, executive director of the Po‘ipu Beach Resort Association, and Lucy Kawaihalau, president and owner of Kauai Vacation Rentals & Real Estate, Inc., agreed that additional nonstop flights from the West Coast to Lihu‘e Airport have not only helped bring more visitors to the island, but have encouraged longer stays here, and increases in numbers of visitors who stay on Kaua‘i and nowhere else while in Hawai‘i.
“On a broad scale, there were indications as early as last year that domestic visitors were going to stay in the United States” this summer. And Hawai‘i and Kaua‘i have the unique combination of being exotic and part of the United States, Parker said.
“People are gearing away from Europe and Asia,” for various reasons, Parker added.
“I think Kaua‘i is just getting more and more popular,” and has been enjoying lots of positive publicity, Kawaihalau said.
“People are attracted to Kaua‘i because it’s less developed, and has friendly people, Kawaihalau added. Repeat visitors she deals with largely choose Kaua‘i as their lone Hawaiian stop, and the nonstop flights have made getting here easier, she noted.
June was fantastic, “July is holding up,” and August is shaping up to be a very busy month as well, said Kawaihalau, who has had to turn some business away during some summer dates.
“It’s an incredible summer.”
“It feels good. It feels great right now,” said Will Squyres, of Will Squyres Helicopter Service. “Let’s pray it lasts.”
There have been lots of events, including war, terrorism, Mainland recession, hurricanes, and other phenomena that have worked to keep visitors away from Kaua‘i, Squyres commented.
But none of those things are keeping people away now, especially this summer, he added. “It would be wonderful if it would last awhile. I’m having a great one,” he said of the current summer.
Where people used to be able to book a helicopter tour a day ahead of time last year, now they need to make reservations two to three days ahead of their flight date, he said.
The end of summer won’t mean the end of boom times for Ohana Helicopters, said Irv Contrades, operations manager. With the return of the cruise ships in September, he expects the sizzling summer to give way to a fantastic fall.
“It’s just going to blast away right through,” said Contrades, adding that Ohana hopes to take delivery of a second helicopter before the summer rush is through.
The company’s location, in Anchor Cove Shopping Center in Nawiliwili, and contracts with various cruise-ship lines and Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays, which operates its own nonstop flights into Lihu‘e, have added up to a very busy year for Ohana, Contrades said.
“It’s been extremely busy,” and difficult to find seats for everyone who wants to fly, he added.
“It seems like the island’s packed,” said Ralph Young, owner and operator of Hanalei Sport Fishing & Tours.
“People are active, and the weather’s been good. The economy’s good,” Young said. “It’s added up to the best June I’ve seen in some time. It couldn’t get any better.”
Normally, July and August are Young’s best months. Last month, he actually had to turn away some business, he said. July to date has been “absolutely just great. There hasn’t been a slack day.”
Besides word of mouth from waiters and waitresses and others directing traffic to his adventure tours, he credits peace in Hanalei as part of the reason for his success, too.
The community railed against large-scale boat tours launching largely unchecked from both the Hanalei River and Hanalei Bay several years ago, and now only a few companies are allowed to operate from the bay, Young’s included.
“There’s a lot of really big families, extended families,” vacationing this summer, which is good news for Chris Fayé and Gay & Robinson Tours, LLC (limited liability company), she said.
The company, which offers two different tours of the island’s remaining sugar plantation and factory, has enjoyed a “pretty busy” summer, she said.
The company’s visitor center traffic has picked up substantially in the last year, and from the second half of June the overall operation has been busy, too, Fayé said.
“I think it will be good through August. We really pick up when kids are out of school,” and market educational tours specifically toward families with children, she added.
Parker of the Po‘ipu Beach Resort Association said the island has benefited from “a wealth of diverse marketing and promotions by everybody,” including the PBRA, individual hotels and activities, Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau, and state and county entities.
“Kaua‘i is becoming more popular for soft adventure. It’s becoming more known,” she said.
With that popularity, though, comes some problems, including the glaring inadequacy of certain portions of state and county roads, she noted.
“I think the thing that we all need to be cognizant of and involved in is our (current and future) infrastructure issues,” she said, speaking specifically about roads, parks, Lihu‘e Airport, harbors, and safety services like police, fire and lifeguards.
“There are some areas that currently need addressing,” especially roads that are already over capacity, Parker said.
The upside of the busy summer is that company owners are making a little money, so are open longer hours and may give raises to loyal and hardworking employees, she said.
The downside is that the roads are congested, there are lines at restaurants, and people have to park a little bit further away from where they want to go, she noted.
The bottom line is that both visitors and residents need to feel comfortable, because if residents are generally happy, visitors will feel welcomed and happy as well, she said.
Business Editor Paul C. Curtis can be reached at pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
