Hawaii Tourism Authority releases ‘regenerative tourism’ motion plan

A new plan for tourism on the Big Island shows the potential of using sustainable tourism to conserve and improve the island’s resources.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority published an action plan for Hawaii Island Destination Management on Wednesday, developed in collaboration with Hawaii County and the Island of Hawaii Visitors Bureau for the next two years, promoting the benefits of “regenerative tourism”.

“Regenerative tourism goes one step further and focuses on the net benefits of the visitor economy for a travel destination, taking into account the social and cultural benefits,” says the plan, which lists a number of measures implemented by state and government agencies Government agencies as well as the private sector can take over to achieve these goals.

“We have a certain type of traveler who has been interested in this type of tourism for years,” said Ross Birch, managing director of IHVB. “But now it’s really up to the goals themselves to set these things up and put them into practice.”

Birch is one of the 19 steering committee members who helped shape DMAP. Other members included former executive director of the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce Miles Yoshioka, executive director of the Imiloa Astronomy Center, Ka’iu Kimura, spokeswoman for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Jessica Ferracane, and others.

The DMAP builds on the HTA Hawaiian Island Tourism Strategic Plan for 2020-2025, which also re-examined the role and future of tourism for the island.

“Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications for the Steering Committee and the community were at the fore as they worked out the measures for the DMAP,” Caroline Anderson, director of community enrichment at HTA, wrote in an email. “The DMAP identifies the effects of COVID-19 not only as a threat – like job loss and impact on the visitor industry – but also as an opportunity for a better tourism industry that is more sustainable for the future.”

Using the Strategic Plan as a basis and taking into account feedback from visitors and residents, the Target Plan lists 10 multi-tiered actions implemented by agencies such as HTA, Ministry of Land and Natural Resources, IHVB, County and Private Sector in the perform in the next few years.

These actions include opportunities to protect culturally significant sites, develop programs to maintain authentic Hawaiian culture, promote environmental practices among visitors and community members, promote agrotourism on the island, invest in community programs and infrastructure, and improve enforcement Provisions for renting out vacation homes.

Each of these points should be completed by the end of 2023, wrote Anderson.

“I really hope that the communities here get involved,” said Birch. “The state, the HTA, and the county are important, but the communities – they really are the people who make it possible.”

The plan also lists a number of places on the island that are considered “tourism hotspots” or areas that unsustainably attract visitors, such as Waipio Valley, Kahalu’u Bay, Papakolea Green Sand Beach and much more.

“The visitor bureau avoided making these places known to visitors because they weren’t set up for this type of traffic,” said Birch. “From the visitor’s point of view, we would like to be able to recommend these places to others, but we need new management practices for these places so that they are sustainable.”

Email to Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.