ACTIONS speak louder than WORDS. We can apologize over and over again, but if our actions don't change, then the words become meaningless. - LifeQuotes and Sayings

1. OFFICE OF THE MAUI COUNTY MAYOR - PRESS RELEASE - JUNE 25, 2021
Mayor Victorino working to mitigate Hana Highway traffic congestion, illegal parking. At his
briefing today, Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino detailed mitigation efforts to relieve
traffic congestion and illegal parking that have coincided with the recent return of tourism to the
island of Maui.
“I understand the anger and frustration of our residents, especially those who live in the Hana
region,” Mayor Victorino said. “I don't believe these visitors would stop in the middle of the road
or park illegally in their own hometowns and endanger the safety of others, so why are they
doing it here?”
Since the return of tourism during spring break, Mayor Victorino has worked with state
legislators to install approximately 70 signs along the road to Hana to discourage illegal parking
by warning of a $35 no parking fine and a $200 surcharge for illegal stopping on a state highway.
Between June 1 and June 23, the Maui Police Department issued 389 parking citations and 83
warnings to violators on Hana Highway between Haiku and Hana town. Similar to other
organizations after the pandemic, MPD is short of manpower and operating with 90 fewer
officers than needed. “A choice must be made between enforcing parking violations or
responding to the thousands of calls that MPD receives each week,” explained Mayor Victorino.
“I’m sure our citizens agree that enforcing crime is a higher priority than parking violations, but
we are working toward other solutions.” Mayor Victorino has met with MPD officials to discuss
the possibility of establishing a category for parking enforcement officers. Another temporary
solution may be augmenting the effort with Maui County Park Rangers, however both options
require an agreement with the unions representing both groups.
As the Mayor's Office works through these challenges, other possible solutions have been
discussed, including restricting access to Hana Highway. However, because federal funds were
used in the state highway's construction, limiting access is prohibited except in the event of a
health or safety crisis such as the COVID-19 outbreak.
Towing the vehicles of violators has also been discussed, but it has been determined that a safety
hazard would result from stranding people without transportation in remote rural areas without
reliable cellphone service. He has also reached out to the state for additional enforcement
support.

2. The mayor recently met with airline executives to determine their willingness to voluntarily
reduce airlift into Kahului Airport. Similarly, he has met with State of Hawaii officials, including
Ford Fuchigami, an administrator in the state DOT Airports Division, and Maui Airports District
Manager Marvin Moniz about gate congestion at Kahului Airport. The airport is now operating
over capacity.
At the same time, Mayor's Office staff members have been talking with hotel and car rental
management to request their help in educating their customers about consideration for the people
and places of Maui County.
“THIS IS A COMPLEX PROBLEM THAT REQUIRES MANY SOLUTIONS,” EXPLAINED
MAYOR VICTORINO. “SOLVING IT WILL REQUIRE A NEW MINDSET AND
WILLINGNESS TO TRY NEW IDEAS. THIS IS MUCH BIGGER THAN PASSING NEW
LAWS OR ASSIGNING MORE POLICE. MAUI COUNTY NEEDS THE COOPERATION OF
THE BUSINESS SECTOR, OUR COMMUNITY LEADERS AND THE VISITORS
THEMSELVES. WE MUST CHANGE THE MINDSET AND LACK OF COURTESY THAT
CREATES THESE SITUATIONS IN THE FIRST PLACE.” [Emphasis Supplied]
Source: Maui County <https://www.mauicounty.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=11030>
_____________________________
Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association President and CEO Mufi Hannemann said now is not the
time to ask airlines or visitors to skip Hawaii, which is still recovering from the pandemic lows.
“I'd rather be dealing with the kind of problems that we are facing as opposed to shut down with no
hope in sight and a lot of hungry and homeless people,” he said. “We need to move forward.
Shutting down is not the way to do it. WE JUST HAVE TO LEARN TO MANAGE IT
BETTER.” [Emphasis Supplied]
Source: “Maui Mayor Mike Victorino wants tourism pause”
By Allison Schaefers, Honolulu Star Advertiser, June 30, 2021
<https://www.staradvertiser.com/2021/06/30/hawaii-news/maui-mayor-wants-tourism-pause/>
_____________________________
MAUI NUI DESTINATION MANAGEMENT ACTION PLAN 2021–2023
MARCH 24, 2021
SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS SUMMARY FOR MAUI
<https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/media/6860/hta-maui-action-plan.pdf>
STRENGTHS
• Hospitality culture
• Strong brand as leisure destination
• Direct fight from core westbound markets
• High-quality resorts
• Diverse attractions
• Higher percent of repeat and second home visitors (short term)
• Strong organized industry support

3. PROBLEMS
• Visitor to resident ratio is high
• Environmental impacts
• Readiness for international visitors
• Ineffective advocacy for tourism
• Mobility and access issues
• High repeat and second home visitors
• Harbor limitations for cruise industry
• Seasonality creates unstable business and seasonal layoffs
• Low utilization of cultural resources especially Native Hawaiian resources
• High unemployment rate in visitor industry due to COVID-19 Threats
• Changing lodging demand: shift away from full-service hotels to timeshare and
vacation rentals, visitors that spend less
• Climate change
• If infrastructure is not improved, then visitor satisfaction will go down
• Core tourism businesses and non-profits may not survive COVID-19
• Loss of westbound market
• Island-specific data on resident sentiment is not available to track change over time
OPPORTUNITIES
• Increase workforce quality and relations
• Present authentic Hawaiian culture
• Improve mobility (walk, bike, public transport, road network)
• Local leadership engagement
• Tourism master planning
• Group/Incentive business
• Niche honeymoon target market
• Market to repeat and second home visitors (Recovery)
• Focus on hotels and package tours
• Reputation for high-tech and innovation (meetings, conventions and incentives (MCI)
and new niche markets)
THREATS
• Changing lodging demand: shift away from full-service hotels to timeshare an vacation
rentals, visitors that spend less
• Climate change
• If infrastructure is not improved, then visitor satisfaction will go down
• Core tourism businesses and non-profts may not survive COVID-19
• Loss of westbound market
• ISLAND-SPECIFC DATA ON RESIDENT SENTIMENT IS NOT AVAILABLE
TO TRACK CHANGE OVER TIME [Emphasis Supplied]
_____________________________
ISLAND VOICES RING OUT
TOURISM PLAN FOCUSES ON QUALITY, NOT QUANTITY
CRITICS SAY RESIDENTS' NEEDS TAKE A BACKSEAT TO VISITOR INDUSTRy
By Kehaulani Cerizo, The Maui News, March 13, 2021
<https://www.mauinews.com/news/local-news/2021/03/tourism-plan-focuses-on-quality-not-quantity/>

4. Before the COVID-19 pandemic slowed travel worldwide, Maui County in 2019 accommodated
a historic high of 3.06 million visitors. Maui residents — and even visitors — had mounting
concerns about overcrowding, and many felt the pandemic offered a chance to reset the tourism
industry.
But how many visitors are the right amount for Maui County’s residents and resources?
A recently released plan says that it's not possible to control the number of visitors, focusing
instead on how to manage tourism before and after the visitors arrive. The Maui Nui Destination
Management Action Plan, facilitated by the Hawaii Tourism Authority, was formed in the
months since visitors began returning under the state’s pre-travel testing program as a way to
help each county reshape its own tourism future. Kawika Freitas, who was tapped as a volunteer
for Maui's steering committee of 19 people charged with drafting the plan, said that residents and
leaders want quality over quantity when it comes to Maui-specific visitors.
“The main message we were getting was quality over quantity,” said Freitas, who is director of
public and cultural relations at Old Lahaina Lu'au and a Maui Planning Commission member.
“Hopefully we can get less visitors to come, but spend the same amount of money by giving
them a quality experience.”
Largely represented by those in the tourism industry, the steering committee, along with the
county and Maui Visitors Bureau, created the plan, which aims to “rebuild, redefine and reset the
direction of tourism over a three-year period.”
While the pause in tourism has allowed several popular destinations around the world to rethink
their visitor industry approaches, some Maui residents who have been tracking local tourism
trends and data do not believe the new plan does enough to confront the larger challenges.
“The useless, fluffy DMAP report . . . avoids any discussion of most the most important issues,”
Kula resident and retired professor Dick Mayer said this week. Mayer, who formerly served on
both the Maui General Plan Advisory Committee and Maui Planning Commission, said the new
document did not consult the Maui Island Plan, the adopted guide for Maui County growth,
which contains a large section on tourism. The Maui Island Plan outlines a “desirable island
population by striving to not exceed an islandwide visitor population of roughly 33 percent of the
resident populations,” meaning no more than one tourist for every three residents. Mayer said
that in 2019, based on HTA data, visitors were 42.1 percent of the resident population — with
about 2.37 residents for each visitor, which is already over the desired capacity stated in the Maui
Island Plan. He also said there is no mention in the management plan of Maui's overdependence
on tourism and the need to diversify the economy away from the industry.
“The plan is meant to bolster up tourism rather than providing a guide for allowing the tourist
industry to have a proper, but not dominating, place in Maui’s future,” Mayer said.
Kai Nishiki, president of the West Maui Preservation Association and a Maui shoreline activist,
said the management plan acknowledges the issues with minimal action to address the problems.
Instead, more effort is made in the report to change resident sentiment without looking at
effective tourism management for which residents are asking, she said. “HTA has no control over
how many people are coming here?” she asked.

5. “I have never seen anyone from the tourism industry advocating for less hotels, less rental cars,
less incoming flights, but I do see them wanting the airports expanded, more hotels, new
freeways, more of our tax dollars to support HTA and MVB advertising, in essence just more
ways to bring in more tourists.”
Mayer and Nishiki noted that most of the members of the steering committee are part of the
tourism industry.
“Isn't that like the fox guarding the henhouse or a bank robber guarding a bank?” Nishiki asked.
“It’s ridiculous really, the tourism folks have a vested interest in this extractive and detrimental
industry maintaining the status quo.”
When asked about its selection of residents for the steering committees, HTA said the county and
the Maui Visitors Bureau took the lead on creating the list of potential steering committee
members.
“We made sure that members of the steering committees represented various communities across
the county as well as HTA's strategic pillars — natural resources, Hawaiian culture, community
and branding,” said Caroline Anderson, HTA’s director of community enrichment.
HTA reports, though, acknowledge the importance of residents’ voice in tourism development.
HTA conducts an annual Resident Sentiment Survey to gauge attitudes and to identify perceived
positive and negative impacts of the visitor industry on residents.
The 2019 reported showed that resident sentiment had “generally weakened” compared to the
previous year. The quality of visitor experience will likely decline if the trend continues, the
report said. “The two are inexorably linked and changes are necessary to improve resident
sentiment — there must be a better balance of economic, social and cultural, and community
benefits from tourism,” the management plan said. “Providing residents with a voice in tourism
development” is key to improving resident sentiment, it added.
When asked what HTA will do to help bolster residents' eroding perspective of tourism,
especially in a pandemic where people are suspect of outsiders, the agency said it is working
collaboratively toward solutions that rely on “community input.” “Improving the lives of our
residents is a priority of HTA's 2020-2025 Strategic Plan,” said Anderson. “The Maui Nui
DMAP was based in part on this strategic plan.”
While HTA is leading many of the efforts in the management plan, the agency said there needs to
be “collaboration and support from other state and county agencies, the community, the visitor
industry and other sectors to help move the actions forward.” Freitas said he's hopeful that when
the plan is widely distributed, positive change can come when people make changes in their
spheres of influence.
For example, if residents want quality over quantity, there is no need for the Maui Planning
Commission to approve hotel expansions, he said. Freitas also discussed action that can mitigate
overcrowding in parks and other natural resources, along with ways the state and county can help
educate visitors about proper cultural protocol and environmental safety, such as using reef-safe
sunscreen.

6. One way state agencies are looking to manage visitor traffic through delicate, rural areas is by
implementing reservation systems for commercial operators and nonresidents at popular state
parks.
At the beginning of this month, Wai'anapanapa State Park became the second state park in
Hawaii to require reservations and the first to integrate commercial tours into its reservation
system.
As a response to rural East Maui residents seeking a reprieve from high traffic and increased
crowding, the new system will help manage traffic flow into the area, according to state Senate
Majority Leader J. Kalani English, who has been working with state Rep. Lynn DeCoite on the
East Maui Reservation Project, an effort to mitigate overcrowding in East Maui after COVID-19.
“Also, and just as important, we can reduce the impact on our neighbors,” state Department of
Natural Resources Division of State Parks administrator Curt Cottrell said in a news release in
February. “As a former resident of Hana, living right next to Wai'anapanapa, it feels good to
support a process that will help my former neighbors. Quality over quantity is our new target in
management.”
The Maui Nui Destination Management Action Plan's three-year vision is a “living document”
that will be evaluated annually against key performance indicators, it said.
“This includes considerations around protecting our ‘aina and perpetuating the Hawaiian
culture,” the plan said. “This does not, however, include deciding who can and cannot come to an
island specifically or to Hawaii in general.” The plan points out that traveling to and about the
Hawaiian Islands are freedoms under federal jurisdiction and cannot be restricted by the state or
the county.
Published March 4, the $108,000 plan ($40,000 for the plan itself and $68,000 for meeting
facilitation and technology) was funded by HTA's state Tourism Special Fund, derived from the
transient accommodations tax. To read the Maui Nui plan that includes Maui, Molokai and Lanai,
visit https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/media/6860/hta-maui-action-plan.pdf