Tourism

... Gradually the mafia deathgrip on Waikiki beaches is being chipped away ....

... We could kick every tourist off the island and it would do anything for Upcountry Maui water users.  But, as usual, facts don’t get in the way of Kaniela Ing’s grandstanding ....

... Rethinking HTA’s “Regenerative Tourism Fee” ....

... A preliminary injunction against Oahu’s ban on short-term rentals of fewer than 90 days is a bad sign for the City & County of Honolulu ....

... The idea seems to be gaining steam now since our federal court has struck down Honolulu’s recent ordinance clamping down on transient vacation rentals ....

... tourism is environmentalism ....

... Formerly known as Bill 41, the new law was supposed to go into effect this week, but a federal judge temporarily blocked it until its provisions can be hashed out in court ....

"...The problem has been implementation...."

... Certification permits have long been required for surf and sailboard instructors, catamaran and canoe captains and second captains, and commercial motorboat operators, operating in Waikiki ....

... accounting for inflation, the actual dollar increase in tourist spending is a paltry $30M ....

... a warning letter Kugle sent Oct. 21 to Honolulu officials about how they should be cautious that their publicized intent to 'aggressively' enforce the law doesn’t violate the judge’s order ....

... Violating the ordinance meant massive daily fines ($10k), plus disgorgement of the rent. Thus, not surprisingly, the ordinance drew a federal court challenge from property owners ....

... Hawaii's 277 hotel businesses average over $25M annual revenue ....

... Airbnbs and similar rentals on Oahu can continue operations as usual for now ....

... Ige’s March 4, 2020, COVID Emergency legalized over half of CNHA’s corruption ....

“I am very pleased with the progress that the two organizations have made in coming together so that we can move forward in the best interest of the State,” said DBEDT Director Mike McCartney....

... 13.8% growth without accounting for 3 yrs of inflation which is about 16% ....

... HTA had disregarded its own procurement policies and procedures, awarding sole source contracts based on questionable justifications, paying contractors without executed contracts ....

... the Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance alleges the ordinance will cause irreparable economic damages to owners that have been renting out properties for less than 90 days....

... Honolulu is 75% higher in taxes than the second most tourist-taxed city in the world ....

... meet the new tourism, just like the old tourism ....

... 67 percent agreed that their island is “being run for tourists at the expense of local people” ....

... $51.70 a night ....

... rental car rates at the top 100 U.S. airports for the month of August 2022 ....

... based on changes in unemployment claims for several key benchmark weeks ....

... Ordinance prohibits sale, rental or distribution of polystyrene bodyboards ....

... defendants misappropriated a significant portion of the funds to pay for psychics and recreational drugs ....

... 842,927 visitors came to the Hawaiian Islands in June, 2022 ....

... Josh Green had to be schooled as to what Hawaii is ....

... Decades of studies have shown that publicly financed stadiums, even those that include housing and retail projects, do not bring in enough money to offset public investments ....

... folks who seem to rank high on the milking list:  tourists....

... no mention of a fuel dock ....

... It’s not just Hawaii residents who are being priced out of paradise. Slowly but surely, tourists are also wondering whether they can still afford to visit here ....

... regenerative tourism makes the tourism industry and tourists more attractive to residents. An overwhelming 96.3% of Kauaʻi residents responded favorably ....

... The high cost of a vacation in Hawai‘i was the top reason cited among visitors from both markets for being unlikely to revisit in the next five years ....

... HB 1147 originally started out as a capital improvements project bill in 2021, but this year lawmakers removed the projects and replaced them with operating appropriations for HTA ....

... a 91.6 percent recovery from May 2019. Though this recovery rate is lower than that of April (96.3%), it is the second highest recovery rate since March 2020 ....

... Property owners maintain that pre-existing rental properties shouldn't be subject to a new ordinance changing minimum lease length ....

... contract for a comprehensive range of brand management and visitor education services for the Hawaiian Islands in the United States market, as well as support services shared by Hawai‘i’s brand management teams worldwide ....

... Have you been renting out a room to help pay your mortgage? ....

... 818,268 visitors in April 2022, representing a 96.3 percent recovery from April 2019 and the highest recovery rate since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hawaii. Visitors spent $1.6 billion, an increase of 21 percent compared to the $1.32 billion reported for April 2019 ....

... of the 50 states, Hawaii saw the largest decline in marriage rate, dropping from 14.2-per-1,000 residents in 2019 to 7.4 in 2020 ....

... Inflation in the Islands hit 7.5% in March ....

... At great cost, isolation from the world delayed the spread until vaccines and treatments were available ....

... Oahu's available vacation rentals have already fallen over 37% since 2019, more than any other island ....

... the state Hawaii Tourism Authority might receive no funding at all ....

... a new city enforcement division consisting of seven new employees whose sole duty will be to ferret out Honolulu homeowners who dare to rent out their homes or parts of their homes for less than 90 days ....

... and total spending by visitors who came to the islands in March 2022 was $1.53 billion, which was higher compared to the $1.49 billion (+2.5%) reported for March 2019 ....

... The measure was passed by the Honolulu City Council on April 13, 2022 by a vote of 8-to-1 .... 

... Oahu tightened the screws in 2019. Yet, housing prices still went up. Even when vacation rental usage declined during the lockdowns, it didn’t result in a significant drop in housing costs....