Everyone — especially Lahaina community members and fire survivors — wants tourists invited back to West Maui beginning today to show respect and aloha.
But what does that mean?
“Respectful, compassionate travel to the island of Maui is encouraged more than ever,” said Ilihia Gionson, spokesperson for the Hawaii Tourism Authority. “Every visitor should follow the rules. It’s never a good time to go get lost on a trail and need rescue because folks are tied up doing other things.”
Asked what visitors should not do while on Maui, Gionson said, “Frankly, gawking. You can see the devastation and it’s heartbreaking. Residents have made it clear stopping to take a photo of a home that’s devastated is highly disrespectful,” let alone stopping to take “a selfie in front of burned-out structures. It’s tough times for folks that are still processing this.”
Maui County and Hawaiian Airlines have both released short videos urging visitors to show respect and compassion and to avoid areas burned in the Aug. 8 wildfire that ravaged Lahaina, displaced 8,000 residents and killed at least 98 people.
The county on Saturday released the first in a series of videos it plans to distribute, one aimed at residents and featuring Mayor Richard Bissen.
Speaking on the Wahikuli shoreline with Kaanapali in the distance, Bissen acknowledges that the community is still grieving “and it feels too soon” to open up to tourism. “But the reality is there are those in our community who are ready to get back to work. Bills need to be paid, keiki have needs and our kupuna face continued medical care,” he says.
No one affected by the fire will be forced to leave temporary housing to make room for visitors, according to Bissen, who is later seen overlooking the Lahainaluna High School football field. He says the county is working with the visitor industry “to ensure that tourists are educated before they come on how to malama our people and our place.”
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A second video, aimed at tourists, features kumu hula and educator Hokulani Holt; kumu hula Kapono‘ai Molitau, proprietor of the Native Intelligence boutique; visitor industry cultural manager Oralani Koa; and Haloa Dudoit, a community organizer and youth baseball coach.
“As you visit our home we ask for your respect and understanding, as so much has changed,” Holt says. “You may experience some of these changes for yourself, from our children who lost their schools and are being shuffled between various locations throughout the island, to the families who lost everything now staying in the very resorts where you may be. When you see these members of our ohana, our family and friends, please show them kindness and compassion.”
Holt also advises visitors to “respect the areas that we have lost, stay away from the burn zone, refrain from taking and posting inappropriate images, especially in these areas, and adhere to signage and instructions where posted.”
Dudoit suggests tourists check out Hana, the north shore town of Paia, the Upcountry Farmers Market and Wailea’s dining scene while supporting local businesses.
Koa adds, “And while many of us are heading back to work during the phased reopening of West Maui, behind the smiles and friendly faces we are all still healing and learning to cope with this heartbreaking loss.”
Hawaiian Airlines produced a series of three videos about “pono travel” for Maui visitors arriving from outside Hawaii. Each video features three of Hawaiian’s nearly 500 Maui-based employees: flight attendant Kiakona Ordonez, Airbus A321neo Capt. Sheila Sone and guest service agent Gerraine Nakama.
The videos, available on YouTube, are under four minutes long and will play on board trans-Pacific flights bound for Maui and on Hawaiian’s website. They follow similar videos the airline produced as tourism rebounded after the COVID-19 pandemic and visitor resentment grew.
In the latest videos, Ordonez, Sone and Nakama offer their opinions on respectful tourism in between interviewing local business leaders across Maui for their thoughts about the visitor industry.
“I’m a Maui boy, born and raised on this island,” Ordonez says at the start of his video. He stops at Ululani’s Shave Ice in Kihei, where Emi Yoshida tells him that she lost a shop in the middle of Lahaina’s Front Street — Ululani’s busiest — and another near the landmark banyan tree. Seventeen of 19 employees lost homes, cars and jobs.
Tourists, Yoshida says, are “much needed here.”
Ordonez ends the video walking on the beach and saying, “We just ask that you travel pono, to be mindful as if you’re going to someone else’s house. … You gotta have fun where you’re at, but also please be mindful and respectful.”
In her video, Sone interviews Nelson Simpliciano at Tin Roof takeout restaurant in Kahului, who asks visitors to “not just receive the aloha that is here, but also give aloha … To put it into simpler terms, always try to be nice but never fail to be kind.”
Nakama talks with Karen Christenson at Mama’s Fish House in Kuau, who says her restaurant is usually booked in advance for three to six months but anyone can walk in after the Aug. 8 wildfires. Tourists who dine at Mama’s are also “supporting over 200 farmers from throughout the state and over 100 fishermen that we buy from. If the visitors don’t come we can’t continue to support them.”
Nakama ends her video by saying, “Travel pono means traveling with respect and treating it like it’s your home.”
Hawaiian Airlines spokesperson Alex Da Silva said, “Visitors want to do the right thing. But it’s always helpful to emphasize the message.”