Honolulu Star-Advertiser Newspaper – Front Page Headline
MAUI MAYOR WANTS TOURISM PAUSE
I was shocked that Maui Mayor Michael Victorino would have this stink’n thinking. I wrote him the following letter and put together cartoon postcard. It’s important that we share our option with the ruling class. It’s a long letter but worth the read.
Mayor Victorino, do you seriously want to put a pause on Maui tourism? Will you be putting a “pause” on the mortgage/rent and car payments for Maui families too, or will the mayor be writing a check to cover family living expenses? Asking for a bunch of friends who were unemployed during the pandemic because politicians determined that their jobs were “non-essential.” Based on this article, you seem to be comfortable with these hardworking families being unemployed again as you securely get your government paycheck.
Your Conversation with the Airlines:
You say you have talked to several airlines serving Maui, and they were “understanding” concerning your tourism pause desire. My guess is that after your conversation ended with these airline managers, they walked away and very much chuckled between themselves behind your back. Mayor Victorino, I think you do not understand the airline travel industry. Airline executives DO NOT determine flight destinations. The airlines fly to destinations where their customers want to go. Friends and families want to fly to Maui, not to Venezuela, Cuba or Afghanistan. In the real world, businesses that can best provide what customers want will get the business and make the most money. It’s that simple, Mayor Victorino. It’s called capitalism. A government that dictates control over where an airline can fly is more in the ballpark of socialism or communism, which most often provides poor service and an impoverished living standard for all (Venezuela and Cuba come to mind) with the exception of the powerful elite upper class who could care less about the regular folks.
Mayor, telling the airlines, “Please don’t fill up your planes and fly them to Maui” is truly laughable. What airline executive, who is responsible for their company balance sheet, demanding shareholders, plus the well-being of their employees, would actually let their planes fly half-empty? Airlines fly people to where they want to go, and the airlines’ frank, honest goal is to fill up their metal cylinders and pack customers in like sardines to make the most money possible. And, it’s a fine line they balance between customers being pissed off at them or happy with their travel experience.
Killing Tourism – Customer Service / Marketing 101
Don’t overthink how to kill tourism because it’s very simple. The quick and easy way to stop folks from coming to Maui is to provide them with an unwelcoming and crappy experience. Maui is known for our “aloha spirit” but you would need to tell the island folks to “can it” – which, to some extent, you have already convened that message as evident by your headline comments in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. To put the brakes on tourism, I would suggest that you take out full-page display ads in the newspapers of Anchorage, Seattle, Canada, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Phoenix, Denver and Chicago. You could be pictured with a gnarled, irritating facial expression in the display ad with the caption, “TOURISTS NOT WELCOME – THE MAUI MAYOR.” And then you will want to be sure to inform our local Ohana that the island needs to tamp down the aloha spirit. This should work just fine, as nothing can kill a business faster than feeling unwelcome with a shitty attitude and service. With all the social apps available, ones person’s bad Maui experiences will be quickly shared around the world with family, friends and coworkers. Problem solved: the mayor will have gotten his wish for a Maui tourist pause – maybe for years to come!
YES, by All Means, Let’s Tax Them – That Always Works!
There is a lot of Hawaiian talk by politicians and others about adding entrance fees, visitor impact taxes, parking fees and much more. This is typical and simplistic politician thinking in which taxes and fees are going to solve all the problems and make life just amazingly better. Let me tell you about marketing and motivation, Mr. Mayor – if the 7,000+ visitors who arrive each day on Maui are willing to pay $125 – $250 for a COVID-19 test with no guarantee that it would be processed in time for a Maui arrival clearance, plus deal with the associated stress to properly navigate your Safe Travels website requirements, then your entrance and impact fees are not going to faze these travelers at all or stop them from visiting Maui. Let me give you an example that you can clearly relate to as you referenced tourism in Venice, Italy, in your Saturday, June 26, article in the Maui News. Venice is one of the busiest cruise ship ports in the Mediterranean. There is a significant PORT FEE charge for each tourist arriving on a cruise ship, which is prepaid when you book your cruise reservation. Did that stop any tourist from booking a Mediterranean cruise? NO! Do you think any of those tourists could tell you what the port fee was? Doubtful. Impose all the island taxes and fees you want, but Maui-bound tourists, and probably many locals too, will just think you politicians are greedy tax-and-spenders – but the tourists will still come because they feel it’s their needed and well-deserved dream vacation – so most tourists will overlook but will foully comment on all your excessive island taxes and fees. Maybe the tourists will stay a shorter time and spend less money. Please be careful what you wish for, Mr. Mayor, as it can often come right back around and bite you in the butt with unintended consequences, and then you have something else that you must contend with … “figure out how to fix your new self-inflected Maui mess.”
Economic Survival on Maui
As it has been for years, our economic survival is tourist-based, and the pandemic was a powerful gut-punch reminder that we need the tourists more than they need us. The tourists pay our bills and let me tell you, anyone who helps me pay my bills I welcome with a big mahalo. We are in this period of tourist stress and lack of economic diversify because our “all-talk” politicians and others could not think outside the box. If you want to diversity our economy, that’s great, let’s get on it, but in the meantime, we all should feel blessed that the tourists chose Maui and not some other travel destination to spend their money.