The overwhelming majority of Oahu community members attending a virtual community input session held Wednesday by the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority as part of its tourism management planning efforts said the island’s top economic driver is negatively affecting their daily lives.
It could have been 2021 again when HTA published its first Destination Management Action Plan for Oahu, and the community’s main recommendation was reducing visitors to the island. HTA’s first DMAP effort to better manage tourism followed 2019, when a record 10.4 million visitors came to Hawaii, and then the pandemic lull hit, which gave some residents a glimpse into what Hawaii would look like with fewer visitors.
Caroline Anderson, interim president and CEO for HTA, kicked off the session with an update on the four