The stated mission of the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) is “to strategically manage Hawaii tourism in a sustainable manner consistent with economic goals, cultural values, preservation of natural resources, community desires and visitor industry needs.”
I would argue that three of these five are not being met. They have focused only on the first and last ones listed. We understand that the state is addicted to the tax revenue like a junkie on a needle, but all of this talk of jobs is ridiculous.
Tourist industry jobs pay subsistence wages at best, which is why our young people and their families are leaving the island in droves in search of higher wage jobs and more affordable housing.
A single parent with one child earning $15 an hour cannot house, clothe and feed her or his family on that level of income. This is a part of why the resident population of Hanalei, Wainiha and Haena has declined 45 percent in recent years. But the biggest reason for the decline is the lack of housing.
There are so many vacation rentals on the North Shore (mostly illegal) that residents cannot find long-term rental housing at any cost, much less a reasonable cost. Why not take some of the monies now being used for HTA’s budget and dedicate it to enforcing the prohibition on non-licensed vacation rentals?
Additionally, a good proportion of those funds should also be used to address other community issues the tourism industry has created.
There has been a significant decline in the quality of life on Kauai over the past five to 10 years. No one but a fool thinks the 1960s and 70s are coming back, but there must be some controls on the number of visitors, visits to endangered sites (e.g., Tunnels and Ke’e beaches), size of rental car fleets, and weight of rental cars (tourists like big vehicles even if there are only two people in the party because that’s what they are used to driving in LA and other major urban areas with massive 10 lane freeways — but we are a community of two-lane roads and a crumbling highway infrastructure).
Like any addict, it will be hard for the government in this state to reduce their consumption of tourist-related tax revenue, but a failure to do so will ultimately be our downfall.
As the environment is damaged and, in some cases, destroyed, as traffic worsens, as residents become more and more angry (and display that anger to the tourists), and the island of Kauai generally becomes an overcrowded tourist mecca that has lost its local charm, the visitors will move on to the next “paradise” and we will find ourselves with greatly reduced fiscal resources and a rapidly aging population (because so many young people have established themselves on the Mainland and are unlikely to return).
This will be a true recipe for economic disaster and everyone will be wringing their hands and asking “why didn’t our political leadership do something to address this impending crisis” rather than just singing “Oh Happy Day” like the party would never end. Short-sightedness coupled with a lack of political will is a dangerous situation.
Some of us may not live long enough to see the inevitable, but the younger generations will. We owe them more than that. Preserve Kauai for future generations, place reasonable limits on tourism now.
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Cyndy Johnson is a resident of Haena.
