A survey led by the state's Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism last month found that more Hawaiʻi residents are feeling better about tourism.
The survey gauged resident sentiment by asking nearly 2,000 locals across the state last fall on their thoughts and feelings about tourism.
Omnitrak, the research group that conducted the survey, found 44% of respondents believed tourism has become better managed. A little over half of the respondents said they felt tourism brought more benefits than problems. Both are increases compared to a similar survey conducted last spring.
Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority chief administrative officer Daniel Nāhoʻopiʻi told HPR that these increases show the agency's destination management action plans, or DMAPs, are addressing resident concerns on every island.
"As residents are more understanding of the programs that we've been doing in destination management, and actually participate in the process and the decision making and in the implementation, they see the benefits of tourism and feel the lessening of impacts," Nāhoʻopiʻi said.
"They help us to determine what are the lower impact areas we need to address going forward," he said.
HTA president and CEO John De Fries said the survey results show "the tide is turning" with public perception, due to efforts and partnerships with local communities.
The DMAP was approved in 2020 by HTA board of directors as part of the authority's five-year strategic plan. All were outlined by a cohort of tourism industry and community leaders in every county. Those plans address specific concerns and issues in each community.
However, the survey also found there wasn't a significant change in respondents who believed their island is run for visitors at the expense of residents. De Fries told HPR that as the DMAP progresses, more significant strides will be made with sustainable initiatives.
"The use of single-use plastics, you're going to see incrementally a decline in that — especially with the major hotel chains," said De Fries. "When the industry starts to lead in the areas of sustainability, that will have a positive effect on the sentiments of our residents."
This comes at a critical time for HTA. A pair of proposals at the state legislature either want to change or dissolve the agency. One measure, HB1381, proposes conducting a study on tourism governance and shifting HTA away from marketing to destination management.
"Do I think HTA can be improved upon? Absolutely. It's a model that has been working for the last 24-25 years," said De Fries.
"But we actually believe that a new model can emerge out of this. The prudent approach is not to just jump from one model to the next, but, in fact, to give it the kind of due diligence and study that it deserves," he said.
