Why Hawaii prefers San Francisco visitors (transplants, 2013, buy)

[Tulemutt]

‘Fit our profile’:
https://www.sfgate.com/hawaii/articl...s-18279560.php

I’m guessing that maybe the reasons Californians make up about 40% of Hawaii’s tourists (as reported in the linked article):

California is the most populous state in the union

California has the closest travel distance and time

As residents of the nation’s 2nd most expensive state (after #1 Hawaii), Californians can more often afford the ever increasing expense of an Hawaiian holiday.


But if folks like believing that Californians, and San Franciscans in particular, have more respect for Aina than other Americans … what the heck, why not pat Californians on their backs, eh?

[Hemlock140]

Interesting, but it seems in conflict with the recent articles about Hawaiians not wanting tourists, and tourism there losing it's appeal lately. We have been to Oahu and Maui, in 2004 and 2013 but after moving to the Seattle area, never went when we lived in the Bay Area.


https://dailyiowan.com/2022/04/19/op...t-sustainable/

https://taiswim.co/blogs/bikini-blog...-next-vacation

https://www.travelinglifestyle.net/h...any-time-soon/

[citizensadvocate]

I heard they never really liked them or had a love hate relationship with them. They sure do like to profit from them. I be warned consistently about theft issues, scams, bandet towing, ripping off, and aggressive local native surfers on my last visit to Oahu. I do understand surfers do have a very territorial reputation though. Its interesting why they like San Francisco tourists. Whether its because there are rarely experienced "Surfers" taking up waves from SF since its not very useful skill in the fridged water of the north coast unless one is really hardcore? They might pay $$$ to learn to surf one day and thats it. I am thinking San Francisco people like to visit Hawaii as the ocean off their city is just too cold and Hawaii may be closer than the Caribbean.

[considerforamoment]

What Hawaiians want is not a monolith - there are different viewpoints. I hope some native Hawaiians pipe up to explain.

The island was forcibly overthrown - lots of trauma there - from what I've read, there is a contingent of Hawaiians who don't welcome visitors - on the other hand, it's a tourist culture and many people depend on tourism for their livelihood.

Even in Maui the videos I've seen on TikTok most recently say they NEED tourists to visit asap - they are asking people not to wait (as they were asked not to come at first).

Hopefully some Hawaiians will update.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Re post #4, I seriously doubt that there are any "native Hawaiians" on this forum. There are a number of us transplants who live in the state, but no matter how many years I live here I will never be "native". I kind of consider myself as a "local" since I've lived there for 13 years, but I still have a lot to learn.

The people who are involved in the tourist industry, which is the biggest industry in the state I believe, are not "native" nor are they the preservationists. Yes, there are some people who want the islands to return to pre-occupation days (you can research the Hawaiian sovereignty movement on your own), but they are not loudly vocal against tourism. Most tourists have no idea that they exist.

Regarding Maui, yes people were asked to stay away from Lahina and from Maui itself due to the lack of available resources. But look at a map -- there's a whole lot more people and businesses on the island that are also suffering due to the drop in tourism and they need to be supported too. That's why they are now trying to encourage people to come visit.

Tourism anywhere is a double-edged sword. These aren't Hawaii-centric problems. While many businesses rely on tourists to make any money, those of us who aren't in the tourism business resent the influx of outsiders. Traffic was sooo much nicer during COVID when the only ones on the roads for those who live there and the stores were not crowded!

[stephenMM]

I lived many years on the Big Island and a few on O'ahu, and never noticed any preference for San Francisco visitors. That sounds like something cooked up by a Travel Magazine or something. How on earth can they discern whether a visitor is from L.A., S.F. or Iowa?

All the islands have a love/hate relationship w/ mainland US visitors, although this is often conveniently overlooked for Asian visitors. Knowing how the islands were illegally overthrown by the U.S., I can understand this. A pity that the schools never informed us of the truth when I was in them, but they papered over the horrors that the Native Americans had to endure too.

From my experience, one thing you can count on is that they welcome tourists in Hawaii, but the minute you move there it's a different story, and yes, they can tell immediately which is which. Again, I totally understand why, but understanding it won't buy you any points w/ them. In the end, I finally tired of having to fight the same discrimination battles every day, along w/ all the other short comings that are involved w/ living so far away from everything else.