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Saturday, August 26, 2023
Last Shelter Closed: Lahaina Survivors in Hotels
By News Release @ 4:07 AM :: 2420 Views :: Maui County, Tourism

... more than a dozen hotels and timeshare properties are currently housing more than 4,400 shelter survivors and hotel employee survivors, while some 900 people are booked in Airbnb units ....

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Tuesday, August 15, 2023
What Does It Mean for HTA to be Administratively Attached to DBEDT?
By UHERO @ 9:07 PM :: 2882 Views :: Hawaii State Government, Tourism

... HRS Chapter 26-35 spells out the requirements that apply to an agency administratively attached to a state department ....

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Tuesday, August 15, 2023
"We would probably see a mass exodus from Maui."
By Selected News Articles @ 12:40 PM :: 3542 Views :: Maui County, Economy, Tourism

... "It would be potentially catastrophic if no one traveled to the island," Green said ....

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Saturday, August 12, 2023
City to temporarily suspend short-term vacation rental laws in response to Maui wildfires
By News Release @ 3:39 AM :: 3373 Views :: Honolulu County, Maui County, Small Business, Tourism

... Blangiardi directed DPP to suspend the short-term vacation rental 30–day minimum rental period requirement to increase the availability of temporary housing on Oʻahu ....

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Friday, August 11, 2023
'All of Lahaina Gone': 89 Dead, 100s Missing, 1,700 Buildings Destroyed
By Video @ 11:59 PM :: 5947 Views :: Maui County, Tourism

... Green described Lahaina as “total devastation,” estimating that about 80% of the town was destroyed, with hundreds of families displaced. He added that the damage to property will be in the “billions of dollars.” ....

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Wednesday, August 9, 2023
53 Dead: People Jump in Water as Fire Burns Thru Historic Lahaina Town
By Video @ 12:48 PM :: 5874 Views :: Maui County, Tourism

... Much of historic Lahaina town destroyed as huge wildfire sends people fleeing into water ....

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Tuesday, August 8, 2023
Honolulu sued for plans to demolish iconic ‘Stairway to Heaven’
By Court House News @ 11:59 PM :: 2669 Views :: Honolulu County, Tourism

... The Haʻikū Stairs have been slated for removal due to safety concerns, but activists say that there are alternatives to ripping out the popular steps ....

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Saturday, August 5, 2023
Fence to keep Homeless Drug Addicts and Criminals out of Uncle Billy's
By News Release @ 4:32 AM :: 3499 Views :: Hawaii County , Homelessness, Tourism

... While the Emergency Proclamation issued by Governor Josh Green, M.D., on July 18, removes and/or expedites some of the  regulatory processes associated with a project of this magnitude it does not exempt a demolition contractor from securing material disposal certificates and other regulatory permits. A demolisher has not been chosen yet through the established procurement process. ...

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Friday, August 4, 2023
FAA Outlines Hawaii Air Tour Safety Improvements
By News Release @ 8:50 PM :: 3179 Views :: Small Business, Tourism

... The public will have 30 days to comment on the new process, which would take effect in spring 2024. It would replace an outdated, 15-year-old manual ....

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Thursday, August 3, 2023
​Maui Leads Statewide Push for counties to increase their TAT surcharges
By Grassroot Institute @ 3:15 PM :: 3662 Views :: Maui County, Taxes, Tourism

... approving for inclusion in the 2024 Hawaii State Association of Counties legislative package a state bill relating to the county transient accommodations tax ....

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Friday, July 28, 2023
Tourist Count Up 5.5%
By News Release @ 4:03 PM :: 3117 Views :: Hawaii Statistics, Tourism

... 889,274 visitors arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in June 2023, an increase of 5.5 percent from June 2022 ....

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Wednesday, July 19, 2023
Green Emergency Order: Sweep Homeless Drug Addicts out of Uncle Billy's and Demolish Hotel
By News Release @ 3:52 AM :: 3836 Views :: Hawaii County , Homelessness, Tourism, Drugs

... The Hawaii Police Department has responded to 6,479 calls for service/incidents in the area from September, 2018, to April, 2023, with an estimated cost for responding to these calls ranges from $319,000 to $459,000 ....

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Wednesday, July 12, 2023
35 Years of Stagnation: Tourism Income Flat Since 1988
By UHERO @ 4:36 PM :: 9392 Views :: Hawaii Statistics, Tourism

... in recent decades visitor spending stopped growing while the number of tourists continued to increase ....

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Sunday, July 9, 2023
Green Stacks HTA Board Before 'Special' Meeting
By News Release @ 4:39 PM :: 2214 Views :: Tourism

... That means the HTA board will be under new leadership when it holds a special meeting Thursday to discuss how to proceed after current HTA President and CEO John De Fries leaves the agency ....

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Friday, June 30, 2023
Sister Park Arrangement Signed for Pearl Harbor National Memorial and Hiroshima Peace Memorial
By News Release @ 3:03 PM :: 3044 Views :: Hawaii History, Military, Tourism, Obama

... Former President Barack Obama, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, Governor of Hawaii Josh Green, and Senator Hirono Promote Peace through Pearl Harbor National Memorial and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park Sister Park Arrangement ....

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Thursday, June 29, 2023
801K Tourists Arrive in May, 2023
By News Release @ 6:56 PM :: 1811 Views :: Tourism

... this represents a 94.6 percent recovery in total visitor arrivals from May 2019 ....

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Wednesday, June 28, 2023
14 Years Later HiDoT Still Trying to get Rid of Falls of Clyde
By News Release @ 11:59 PM :: 2707 Views :: Honolulu County, Development, Tourism

... HDOT is working to redevelop Pier 7 at Honolulu Harbor which has been vacant and inactive for the last 14 years, after Bishop Museum closed the Hawaiʻi Maritime Center ....

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Saturday, June 24, 2023
HiDOT Jacks up Airport Parking Fees in Effort to Price You Out
By News Release @ 2:25 PM :: 3303 Views :: Tourism, Cost of Living

... the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation expects the additional benefit of reduced demand for overnight and multiple-day parking ....

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Friday, June 16, 2023
HTA: De Fries Gets Boot
By News Release @ 4:36 AM :: 2876 Views :: Ethics, Tourism

... 'Hawai‘i Tourism Authority President and CEO John De Fries Announces He Will Decline Extension of Employment Contract' LOL! ....

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Monday, June 12, 2023
Homeless Shut Down Diamond Head State Park
By News Release @ 12:33 AM :: 3572 Views :: Homelessness, Tourism

... DLNR removed a water hose being used to siphon water into an encampment of meth addicts on the lower slopes of Diamond Head ....

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Friday, June 9, 2023
DLNR: Haena State Park to be Model for State
By News Release @ 12:59 PM :: 3155 Views :: Kauai County, Tourism

... following the signing of a bill by Governor Josh Green, M.D., facilitating the continued community-based management of this 65-acre state park ....

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Monday, June 5, 2023
Helicopter Association Slams Air Tour Plans for Hawaii National Parks
By News Release @ 3:09 PM :: 2828 Views :: Small Business, Tourism

... air tour management plans would severely limit helitours at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and the Haleakalā National Park ....

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Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Hawaii visitor spending up as tourism continues to recover from the pandemic
By Selected News Articles @ 10:41 PM :: 2517 Views :: Hawaii Statistics, Tourism

... 806,209 people visited Hawaii in April 2023, representing a 97.4% recovery since April 2019 ....

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Saturday, May 27, 2023
HDoT Reopens HNL Runway--sort of
By News Release @ 4:01 AM :: 2726 Views :: Hawaii State Government, Tourism

... Nightly closures of runway 8L from 5 p.m. and 7 a.m. will be needed for a 140-day period to complete the improvements to the runway ....

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Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Slush Fund News: HTA Gives $27M Contract to CNHA
By News Release @ 12:07 AM :: 3279 Views :: Ethics, Tourism

... $27M of Green's illegal $200M slush fund has spilled into CNHA's lap ....

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Sunday, May 14, 2023
Ding Dong, the Green Fee is Dead
By Tom Yamachika @ 6:00 AM :: 2952 Views :: Taxes, Tourism

... The bill containing the fee proposal, Senate Bill 304, did not survive the conference committee process. ...

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Saturday, May 6, 2023
HTA Funding? $30M Magically Appears After Legislature Zeroes out Budget
By News Release @ 6:20 AM :: 3282 Views :: Ethics, Hawaii State Government, Tourism

“HTA is thankful that the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and the Legislature agreed on a funding approach that will allow HTA to continue...."

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Saturday, May 6, 2023
Green Names Tokioka head of DBEDT
By News Release @ 5:31 AM :: 3306 Views :: Hawaii State Government, Tourism

... how will this help Dela Cruz make money on Aloha Stadium? ....

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Wednesday, May 3, 2023
March 2023: Tourist Count Reaches 97% of Pre-Pandemic Levels
By News Release @ 1:19 PM :: 2231 Views :: Tourism

... As measured in nominal dollars, these visitors spent $1.84 billion in March 2023, up from $1.53 billion (+20.4%) in March 2022 and $1.49 billion (+23.4%) in March 2019 ....

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Saturday, April 29, 2023
HB1375 deferred: HTA is just a can to kick into the next session
By News Release @ 3:19 AM :: 2689 Views :: Tourism

... I am confident that HTA can continue to operate with roughly $30 million of unspent American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds ....

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Monday, April 24, 2023
UHERO: Effect of Eliminating all Short-term vacation rentals?
By UHERO @ 5:30 PM :: 3624 Views :: Tourism, Cost of Living

... In Waikiki, Lahaina, and Kihei, 10,000s of hotel condo units were built as STRs in the 1980s and 1990s long before anybody ever heard of AirBnB and long before the recent housing inflation.  'Removing all STRs' would include stripping these units of their rights.  You are not supposed to notice this fatuous little trick, but now you have ....

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Thursday, April 20, 2023
Proposed ‘green fee’ could end aloha as we know it
By Keli'i Akina PhD @ 2:23 PM :: 3354 Views :: Taxes, Tourism

... If Hawaii’s politicians aren’t careful, they might kill the goose that lays the golden egg .... 

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Sunday, April 9, 2023
UHERO: Hawaii needs a Super-HTA with 'Authority and Force to Require Others to Carry out the Plan'
By UHERO @ 4:01 PM :: 2983 Views :: Tourism

"...HTA’s statutory authority lacks force .... HTA did not have sufficient authority or resources to require others to help carry out (the) plan...."

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Sunday, April 9, 2023
​This Week’s Testimony from Grassroot Institute
By Grassroot Institute @ 12:00 PM :: 3105 Views :: Small Business, Taxes, Tourism

... Testimonies submitted to the state Legislature, Honolulu Council, and Maui Council by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii during the past week ....

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Thursday, April 6, 2023
Coming Soon: 'Six ways to get around the visitor fee in Hawaii'
By Grassroot Institute @ 6:13 AM :: 2932 Views :: Taxes, Tourism

"...what you’re really doing is just shifting the visitor impact around, and you’re creating new issues of congestion and use....”

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Tuesday, April 4, 2023
Pouring cold water on 'visitor impact fee'
By Grassroot Institute @ 11:21 PM :: 2525 Views :: Taxes, Tourism

... impractical and legally dubious ....

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Thursday, March 30, 2023
Hawai‘i Tourism Authority Appoints Isaac Choy as Vice President of Finance
By News Release @ 11:58 PM :: 2778 Views :: Ethics, Tourism

... Choy begins work on April 10 and will be responsible for overseeing HTA’s management of finances and government funding, including compliance with legislative and auditing requirements ....

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Thursday, March 30, 2023
753,750 visitors arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in February 2023
By News Release @ 11:07 PM :: 2525 Views :: Hawaii Statistics, Tourism

... tourist spending in nominal non-inflating dollars is +18.0% vs February 2019.  Inflation is 16.77% 2019-2023 so we are just treading water ....

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Monday, March 27, 2023
Ban on short-term rentals won't help Hawaii County produce more homes
By Grassroot Institute @ 12:00 PM :: 3076 Views :: Hawaii County , Small Business, Tourism

... Hawaii County already has some of the most restrictive housing regulations in the U.S. ....

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Saturday, March 25, 2023
HTA by any other name is still HTA
By Keli'i Akina PhD @ 5:57 PM :: 2441 Views :: Tourism

... SB1522 would replace the HTA with a new “Office of Destination Management.” ....

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Friday, March 10, 2023
UHERO Report predicts challenging year for Hawaii tourism
By Selected News Articles @ 7:09 PM :: 2648 Views :: Economy, Tourism

"...While international tourism will continue to recover, domestic travel will soften as the US economy contracts later this year...."

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Monday, March 6, 2023
‘Visitor impact’ fee inherently flawed
By Keli'i Akina PhD @ 4:32 AM :: 2839 Views :: Taxes, Tourism

... your cousins will have to pay hundreds of dollars to go to the family barbecue at Ala Moana Beach Park ....

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Sunday, March 5, 2023
Love-Hate Relationship with Tourism 
By Tom Yamachika @ 5:00 AM :: 2808 Views :: Taxes, Tourism

... We have been taxing the bejeebers out of tourists ....

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Saturday, March 4, 2023
Proposed new category for ‘transient vacation’ rentals would burden residents
By Grassroot Institute @ 5:19 PM :: 2698 Views :: Taxes, Tourism

... this classification creates a significant tax burden for landlords — even those renting to working class families ....

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Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Sheriffs Bust Waikiki Marijuana Dealer
By News Release @ 11:06 PM :: 3402 Views :: Taxes, Tourism, Drugs

“Businesses that are involved in the cannabis industry must ensure that their activities comply with the law.”

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Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Average of 259,514 visitors in Hawaii every day
By News Release @ 3:08 PM :: 2892 Views :: Hawaii Statistics, Tourism

"...full recovery may take a few years...."

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Monday, February 27, 2023
Ed Case Reintroduces Helicopter Noise Bill
By Ed Case @ 6:19 PM :: 2798 Views :: Small Business, Tourism

... Measure To Impose Strict Safety Requirements And Provide For State And Local Community Disruption Regulation On Commercial Air Tour Operations ....

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Friday, February 24, 2023
Report: Hawaii's hotel revenue back to pre-pandemic levels
By Selected News Articles @ 11:22 PM :: 3174 Views :: Economy, Hawaii Statistics, Tourism

... With the average hotel occupancy projected to be about 63% across the nation this year, Hawaii is projected to have a 78% occupancy rate. Its rate in 2019 was 80%, the report showed ....

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Monday, February 20, 2023
CNHA Inside Track: Robin Danner Snags Gig in Governor's Office
By News Release @ 2:19 AM :: 7070 Views :: DHHL, Ethics, Tourism

... CNHA: Josh Green will Give us Tourism Contract ....

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Wednesday, February 15, 2023
DLNR--Build Parking Garage at Ala Wai
By News Release @ 4:34 PM :: 3437 Views :: Honolulu County, Tourism

“In the very near future, we are going to do a request for proposals for the development within the facility itself. Since this is envisioned as a public-private partnership the current parking layout may shift some in the future. That could include a parking structure at the harbor”

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