Tourism

... there are bills that would undo the TAT extension to cruise lines and, instead, impose a per-passenger charge on cruise ship docking ....

... Otaguro admits HDoT has not sought a legal opinion from the Attorney General’s office on whether Act 152 really requires the project ....  

... Tourism has stabilized ....

... spending by visitors in January 2026 was $2.26 billion up 19.0 percent compared to January 2025. A 10.4 percent growth in total arrivals to 874,358 visitors ....

... Hawaii Water Service is moving forward with a feasibility study for a decentralized wastewater treatment plant in Kapalua that would produce recycled water and give the community a drought-resistant supply of irrigation water ....

... due to the ongoing partial federal government shutdown ....

"... DOBOR simply does not know whether it recovered from vessel owners or their insurers the costs it expended ..."

... “left-behind places” share a common pattern: a dominant industry stops growing, productivity stalls, and incomes stagnate ....

... We demand you crush the TVRs ....

... A total of 9,642,991 visitors arrived in calendar year 2025, down slightly from 9,701,499 visitors (-0.6%) in 2024 ....

... The non-existent FAA mandate is HDoT’s rationale for a $22.26M contract to replace the brand new systems ....

... While the AG was counting her chickens, barristers worked through the holidays to bring the preliminary injunction appeal to justice ....

... 3.6 percent decrease in total arrivals to 736,831 visitors ....

... A second lawsuit has been filed challenging Maui Bill 9 ....

... plan to be out of the area no later than 6 p.m. ....

... The AG isn't telling you this, but the plaintiffs immediately filed an appeal to the 9th Circuit.  They also filed a motion for a stay pending appeal ....

... Bill 9 will cause job losses for Maui residents, impede entrepreneurship, reduce county tax revenues and result in expensive litigation against the county ....

... The ink of Bissen’s signature is barely dry and, precisely as predicted, the litigation is already beginning ....

... and Lihue comes in 7th ....

... Hawaii laws levy a general excise tax on accommodation bookings but the state insists Booking.com can't preemptively challenge the law before actually paying the tax ....

...The final vote to approve Bill 9 was 5-3 with Gabe Johnson, Shane Sinenci, Keani-Rawlins-Fernandez, Nohelani Uʻu-Hodgins and Tamara Paltin voting yes. Yuki Lei Sugimura, Tom Cook and Chair Alice Lee voted no....

... A tourism downturn is now underway, and job losses will occur in a number of sectors in 2026 ....

... For the last five years, this historical space has been closed to the public . But now, visitors are welcomed back ....

... the cruise lines alleged that the tax appeal system we have here is anything but plain, speedy, and efficient ....

... outgoing Administrator Sal Petilos is retiring after two and a half years with the City ....

... Visitors in October 2025 spent more on an average daily basis ($277 per person, +12.0%) which offset a 2.9 percent decrease in total arrivals to 749,095 visitors ....

... What is it about CNHA’s $27M HTA contract that the Governor’s Office, CNHA, and HTA are trying to hide from auditors? ....

... When you make it difficult for people to visit, they take the hint and stop coming ....

... BLNR voted Friday, November 14, to defer for six months its decision-making on a DLNR Land Division recommendation to hold a contested case hearing over the proposed disposition of a water license by public auction ....

... Four popular Hawaiʻi state parks will implement parking management and fee systems for nonresidents and commercial vehicles ....

... The Constitution’s Tonnage Clause bars States from imposing any “charge for the privilege of entering, trading in, or lying in a port.” ….

... the Cruise Lines International Association and several Hawaii tour operators are asking for a preliminary injunction to block the law ....

... We expect to cancel roughly 36-40 flights each day through Sunday, Nov. 9 ....

... Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is proposing Legislators again hike the Transient Accommodations Tax ....

... there were 690,858 total visitors to the Hawaiian Islands in September 2025, a 2.5 percent decline compared to September 2024 ....

... the disposal site is approximately 25 miles south of Honolulu Harbor ....

... Could Hawaii be Supplied with Canadian LNG from JERA? ....

"How much longer is it going to take for Lahaina to get back on its feet — five, 10, 15 years?"

... The Bill 9 TIG—which is being dissolved after presentation of its report—included Councilmembers Tamara Paltin, Tom Cook and Shane M. Sinenci ....

... a case testing manufacturer immunity under a 1994 federal law ....

 “It’s more opportunity to kind of reshape some of the tourism experience that we have" -- Josh Green

... Court documents allege Choy was illegally fired September 5, 2025, on the written order of Green’s Chief of Staff, Brooke Wilson ....

... visitor numbers are down, job growth has stalled, and housing activity remains weak ....

...  it will be "months" before the remaining agreements are signed ....

... 24 percent of STVR users would not travel to Hawai‘i Island if this lodging option were unavailable ....

... Where were these politicians while Bissen was creating this problem? ....

... Public debate about tourism in Hawai‘i is often cast in binary terms, either for or against the industry, yet the reality is far more complex ....

... REALITY:  West Maui Stage 2 Water Shortage--Bissen Dumps Water Down Streambed ....

... This seems to me to be a departure from past practice ....

... Hawaii’s economy to expand by 1.3 percent in 2025, a small upward revision from its previous forecast ....