LIHU‘E — Educating tourists on local culture, improving traffic and fixing a frayed relationship between residents and the visitor industry are among the top priorities listed in the 2021-2023 Kaua‘i Destination Management Plan.
A progress report for the strategy, which is helmed by the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority in partnership with a slew of county, state and federal agencies, nonprofits and the visitor industry, was published on Wednesday.
Thirty-six Phase One actions were slated for implementation under the Kaua‘i DMAP in 2021. Twenty-two, or 61% of the total actions, were in progress as of July 30, in addition to two Phase Two actions initiated ahead of schedule.
Ongoing efforts include the propagation of educational videos on appropriate behavior toward endangered species like the Hawaiian monk seal, honu and others. Multiple reports of visitors harassing such animals occurred throughout the summer, sparking outrage among Hawai‘i residents.
HTA has already posted the videos on social media and is working to play the videos on flights, in the airport and on hotel TV channels.
The management plan also calls for measures to address overtourism on Kaua‘i by keeping track of visitor statistics and enacting reservation systems at so-called visitor hotspots.
Both the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and HTA are in the midst of establishing such reservation systems, according to the progress report.
Other DMAP initiatives cover the promotion and accurate representation of Kaua‘i cultural practices, values and products.
Kaua‘i County has published “Tips from Aunty Lani: How to travel with Aloha” online, and a “Kaua‘i 101” curriculum for visitors and new residents is under consideration. A brick-and-mortar retail and networking space for Kaua‘i products, funded by HTA, is anticipated to open on Rice Street in Lihu‘e sometime this fall.
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Scott Yunker, general assignment reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or syunker@thegardenisland.com.
The impacts of tourism include unenforced existing rules protecting our public trust resources and agricultural areas. Tourists are destroying the “ice box” of our people at Makua with overuse of permitted commercial tour activity, destruction of the estuarine sea caves with boat activity and emissions. DLNR does not have the funding nor manpower to monitor or enforce the critical sources of our fishery and the County of Kauai does not provide adequate enforcement of County Park rules protecting the places within their jurisdiction. Citizen volunteer programs providing information and enforcement support fall on deaf ears.
Tourism management is not happening and the very things and places they come to see are being destroyed.
“Aunty Lani” has not asked the fishermen of Ha’ena how she can help.
Auntie Niele,
You’ve lost credibility, that is why no one listens to you anymore. Please do something other than air your persnickety complaints.
Has anyone else noticed that closing down a “visitor hotspot” does nothing more than create new ones. Hard to believe our elected officials don’t recognize this unintended consequence.
Example: Restricting people from Ke’e = new crowds at Lumahai.
Why is this poor planning? Ke’e has a bathroom and a lifeguard. Ke’e is a safe beach. I don’t think government meant to endanger lives and create unsanitary conditions, but they have. By the way there are very few people at all that now use Ke’e beach. Take a look (politicians).
Just shows you how “behind the times” the HTA is and why their funding was cut. It took basically an “uprising” of residents to get their attention and FINALLY get videos made to show what you should and should not do on the islands. And these videos need to be to the point, not the fluff “oh please don’t do that” so that visitors can not claim that they don’t know they shouldn’t lift turtles out of the water like the guy from Georgia (who had no common sense). It is sad that common sense has to be dictated to the current crop of visitors.
Maybe we should also include in the video that tourists should no longer leave their old mattresses, trash and cars all along our shorelines.