In Hawaii, reimagining tourism for a post-pandemic world
14 minutes to read
By: Tariro Mzezewa
Before Covid, tourism was at this point where everything was about tourists. With the one-year anniversary of travel s collapse, Hawaii, like other overtouristed places, is hoping for a reset. For a visitor who was on the island of Oahu in 2019 when a record 10.4 million people visited Hawaii, returning to Honolulu nearly a year after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic is breathtaking.
At Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, souvenir shops and nearly all food vendors have closed. In neighbourhoods around the state s capital, restaurants and bars, tour operators and travel agencies have shuttered permanently, and many that remain appear to be shells of the popular jaunts they were before the pandemic. Hotels with skeleton staffs. No tourist-filled buses blocking the entrances to attractions. Plenty of room to move on sidewalks without bumping shoulders.
“The pandemic was really the second disaster. The first one was the flood on Kauai,” says Alan Carpenter, assistant administrator of Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of State Parks. In April 2018, a record-breaking storm dumped more than four feet of rain in 24 hours on the north shore of Kauai, destroying hundreds of homes and the one road leading to the Na Pali Coast’s Haena State Park and its popular Kalalau Trail. Suddenly, one of Hawaii’s most visited attractions went from seeing over 2,000 tourists a day to none.
Incidentally, just prior to the flood, DLNR and community members had finished drafting a master plan for Haena State Park, an effort 20 years in the making. It aimed to control the crowds overwhelming the park and surrounding towns, while also restoring the area’s natural and cultural environment. The proposal included stream and
Brown County State Park added to National Register Sunday, February 21, 2021 4:00 AM Brown County State Park is the sixth Indiana state park to be listed on the National Register, joining Pokagon, Mounds, Shakamak, Turkey Run, and Fort Harrison state parks. Photo provided Brown County State Park’s recent addition to the National Register of Historic Places makes it the state’s largest historic district.Brown County State Park
Listing as a historic district recognizes an area that has a high degree of historical integrity in its buildings, structures, and landscapes. To be eligible, a district is required to have been associated with events, developments, or people that were important in the history of the state or country. In addition, districts on the National Register must be at least 50 years old and look much the way they did in the past.
Waianapanapa State Park reservation system, fees to begin March 1 bizjournals.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bizjournals.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
BROWN COUNTY – Brown County State Park’s recent addition to the National Register of Historic Places makes it the state’s largest historic district.
Listing as a historic district recognizes an area that has a high degree of historical integrity in its buildings, structures and landscapes. To be eligible, a district is required to have been associated with events, developments or people that were important in the history of the state or country. In addition, districts on the National Register must be at least 50 years old and look much the way they did in the past.
“It’s a great honor for our park to be listed on the National Register,” Patrick Haulter, the park’s interpretive naturalist said. “It really speaks to how important this park is, not only to the people who live here, but to everyone.”