LIHU‘E — Island tourism officials have a game plan for 2022, one year after the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority debuted county-by-county Destination Management Action Plans to address a changing visitor industry.
Local DMAP objectives include better management of visitors, increased promotion of authentic Hawaiian culture and enhanced protection of the island’s natural resources, among others.
The Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau recently established its top-three initiatives to achieve these goals.
“The first one would be exploring and implementing a universal user-fee model, to offset maintenance costs at beaches and parks,” KVB Kaua‘i Destination Manager Patti Ornellas said in a recent interview.
The proposed model is prompted by overcrowding at tourist hot-spots across the island, from Koke‘e to to Nounou, also known as Sleeping Giant.
“Two things are happening: one, there’s a lot of people going to a place that doesn’t have enough parking, so do we charge for parking?” said KVB Executive Director Sue Kanoho. “The other is, some residents are finding that they can’t use the parks at all, because
everything’s been taken up by visitors.”
Discussions surrounding the user-fee question have only just begun, meaning nothing is set in stone. But tourists already pay entrance and parking or shuttle fees at Waimea Canyon, Koke‘e and Ha‘ena state parks.
Ha‘ena’s current shuttle-and-entry system, which launched last summer, limits visitor access, and is intended to ensure constant availability to residents.
“I do think that’s going to be the way of the world,” Kanoho said.
The KVB leaders also want to install more educational signage in public spaces, to promote Native Hawaiian culture and history.
Prince Kuhio Park in Kukui‘ula will serve as the initiative’s proving ground.
Tourists have been reported standing atop the sacred he‘iau walls and partying inside the park, according to Ornellas.
She believes the planned signs would enrich the environment for visitors and islanders alike.
“I’ve seen the (signs) in Koke‘e and Lydgate Park,” Ornellas said. “I think that, even for me, as a resident, I really appreciate having that information.”
KVB’s third priority is advocating for increased state funding for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, for natural-resource protection.
Those funds, if secured, would be spent targeting illegal activities in state parks.
Wailua Falls, well-known for trespassing by tourists, locals and photography businesses, is Kanoho’s preferred case study in chronic bad behavior.
“Maybe we need a roaming ambassador who would educate people,” she said. “But here’s the sad part: people say, ‘I know there’s a sign that says, Do not go beyond this point. But nobody ever does anything about it.’”
Although the above actions are still in their early stages, other DMAP projects are much closer to fruition.
These include Alakoko, a Rice Street storefront for local entrepreneurs slated to open sometime this month.
A town hall dedicated to the Kaua‘i DMAP is in the offing as well, although a date and details have yet to be determined.
“This isn’t just a ‘now’ thing. This is an ever-evolving thing,” Ornellas said of plans for the future. “It’ll be dynamic, really working towards reconnecting and realigning the visitor industry with the island’s community values.”
The next public DMAP update is scheduled for release on Feb. 9.
Let’s take a moment and think if Ke’e beach is better or worse. Sure, the parking lot is better. Now locals cannot bring their visitor friends because their friends don’t have a pass. How long before locals need a pass and have to pay and make reservations?
This is another way to screw things up for a lot of popular parks.
Plan ahead for your visitors and you should be fine, tickets are more readily available with the new system. And don’t forget, if your visitor is from another island they don’t need tickets, a Hawaii ID gets them in.
Many of these issues stem from freewheeling tourist in their rental cars, not to mention the horrendous traffic that happens when the island has high occupancy. A simple solution to both issues would be to limit vehicle registrations. No legit parking spot , no registration. Being a small island with limited resources, our roads and parking, there needs to be a restriction to registration or these issues will continue to fester. Do we keep building wider roads and adding more paid parking? When does that end? Do the people of Kauai want another island wide Waikiki? I am constantly amazed whenever I see 10 cars parked at a single family house, or when Ahukini State park becomes the rental car “park”ing lot. It’s not right, no legit parking space no registration should be the norm. Implement that and you solve many issues and make more valuable jobs for the tax payers.
To many entitled tourist, those signs are just
A gimmick to keep locals at bay, just like the
Toll up at Kokee. It’s an honor system with no
Enforcement , who is gonna pay that?. With all the millions of tourists the county still broke. So I say put a max limit on flights and
Rental cars…
The problem is too many visitor accommodation units have been zoned and permitted by our county council. Thanks guys.
Let’s start by getting rid of the illegal vacation rentals.
Currently vacation rentals that are outside of the VDA have county permits that run with the property, meaning that mainland investors can sell their rental business with the property. This is a mistake. Let’s not put them out of business, but when they sell their property they lose the vacation rental permits.
Pretty easy to blame everything on tourists and convince yourself that residents are all guiltfree but that’s not honest in the slightest. Why not put the governing authorities to the test of accountability for managing these public roads and lands? Make realistic regulations and enforce them for everyone equally.
Patrick H Flores, Nampa, Id
Hawaii residents don’t go to Idaho and tell Idahoans how to plant potatoes. So what gives you right tell use how to run our tourism industry?
Freddy from Kalaheo, Kauai
All of these suggestions involve complicated issues. Note that P. Ornellas said “universal” user fee model. Does that mean consistent at every park and beach? Or universal in its enforcement, against tourists and locals alike? Who is going to define “authentic Hawaiian culture”? Will the signage be historically accurate or sanitized? At one time, the signage by the he’iau at Lydgate referenced the outlawing of Hawaiian language and religion and noted that much of the stones had been used as the base for part of the Kuhio highway. Does it still say that? We might consider what would have happened to overuse of the Kalalau and Ke’e if the ban on parking along the road had actually been enforced. (Lack of ready access has kept hoards from the old Powerline trail.). If these matters were simple, they’d have been solved a long time ago. Perhaps Kauai should start with enforcing regulations and laws pertaining to illegal rentals; and enforcement of existing parking restrictions. An expensive tow down to, say, Waimea and the cost of retrieving a vehicle would have a chilling effect on illegal parking by everyone.