Photo by Charley Myers The following testimony was submitted by Joe Kent, executive vice president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, for consideration by the Honolulu City Council’s budget committee on Oct. 20, 2021, regarding Bill 40, which would establish a 3% transient accommodations tax for the City and County
Hawaii is more than happy to tax the golden goose of tourism. But when it comes to feeding, caring for and cleaning up after it, we can’t seem to get on the same page. Last week, the Hawaii Tourism Authority announced a plan to decrease tourism on Oahu. Yes, the
If you want to find something that perfectly captures Hawaii’s schizophrenic tourism policy, you couldn’t do much better than House Bill 862. The bill sends an inconsistent message about tourism, suggesting that the industry shouldn’t have government funding while simultaneously making it more vital to state revenues. It was one
Photo by Charley Myers This article was originally emailed as a “Reader Alert” on April 18, 2021, to everyone on the institute’s email list. If you are not already on the list and would like to be, please email info@grassrootinstitute.org. _____________ Shifting public sentiment is making it more politically viable to end
Photo by Charley Myers It has always been the right thing to do in principle, but shifting public opinion is making it more politically viable Since the launch of the Safe Travels program in October 2020, Hawaii’s tourism industry has been making a comeback. Perhaps due to pent-up demand, visitors
Like Hawaii, Alaska relies heavily on tourism. Before the coronavirus pandemic and government lockdowns manifested in early 2020, the tourism industry had employed one in 10 Alaskans and annually served almost 1.2 million visitors, generating about $2.2 billion. Also like Hawaii, Alaska counted on cruise ships to boost its annual
As Hawaii struggles to rebuild its economy following the COVID-19 lockdown, we are faced with big questions about the future of our tourism industry. There is no shortage of suggestions as to how to revive tourism, but realists know that it won’t be as simple as appealing to just one
I’ve been saying that Hawaii’s policymakers need to respond to the economic impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns with bold ideas. I should have clarified that by “bold ideas” I meant new thinking, not the relentless pursuit of the same old big government policies. In other words, instead of continuing the same
The following is a news release sent out to all Hawaii media on Oct. 21, 2020. ____________ Ocean cruising has been suspended during the lockdowns, but when it resumes, it needs more freedom to benefit Hawaii HONOLULU, Oct. 21, 2020 >> Ocean cruising is a natural for Hawaii’s tourism industry, but federal law has
“It looks like that we’ve a controversy on our hands,” said Hawaii talk show host Mike Buck, speaking Tuesday morning (Oct. 20, 2020) to his devoted KHNR AM 690 or FM 94.3 radio audience. In fact, said the popular veteran broadcaster, “I know we have a controversy on our hands.
Photo by Charley Myers The following testimony was submitted by Joe Kent, executive vice president of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, for consideration by the Honolulu City Council’s budget committee on Oct. 20, 2021, regarding Bill 40, which would establish a 3% transient accommodations tax for the City and County
Hawaii is more than happy to tax the golden goose of tourism. But when it comes to feeding, caring for and cleaning up after it, we can’t seem to get on the same page. Last week, the Hawaii Tourism Authority announced a plan to decrease tourism on Oahu. Yes, the
If you want to find something that perfectly captures Hawaii’s schizophrenic tourism policy, you couldn’t do much better than House Bill 862. The bill sends an inconsistent message about tourism, suggesting that the industry shouldn’t have government funding while simultaneously making it more vital to state revenues. It was one
Photo by Charley Myers This article was originally emailed as a “Reader Alert” on April 18, 2021, to everyone on the institute’s email list. If you are not already on the list and would like to be, please email info@grassrootinstitute.org. _____________ Shifting public sentiment is making it more politically viable to end
Photo by Charley Myers It has always been the right thing to do in principle, but shifting public opinion is making it more politically viable Since the launch of the Safe Travels program in October 2020, Hawaii’s tourism industry has been making a comeback. Perhaps due to pent-up demand, visitors
Like Hawaii, Alaska relies heavily on tourism. Before the coronavirus pandemic and government lockdowns manifested in early 2020, the tourism industry had employed one in 10 Alaskans and annually served almost 1.2 million visitors, generating about $2.2 billion. Also like Hawaii, Alaska counted on cruise ships to boost its annual
As Hawaii struggles to rebuild its economy following the COVID-19 lockdown, we are faced with big questions about the future of our tourism industry. There is no shortage of suggestions as to how to revive tourism, but realists know that it won’t be as simple as appealing to just one
I’ve been saying that Hawaii’s policymakers need to respond to the economic impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns with bold ideas. I should have clarified that by “bold ideas” I meant new thinking, not the relentless pursuit of the same old big government policies. In other words, instead of continuing the same
The following is a news release sent out to all Hawaii media on Oct. 21, 2020. ____________ Ocean cruising has been suspended during the lockdowns, but when it resumes, it needs more freedom to benefit Hawaii HONOLULU, Oct. 21, 2020 >> Ocean cruising is a natural for Hawaii’s tourism industry, but federal law has
“It looks like that we’ve a controversy on our hands,” said Hawaii talk show host Mike Buck, speaking Tuesday morning (Oct. 20, 2020) to his devoted KHNR AM 690 or FM 94.3 radio audience. In fact, said the popular veteran broadcaster, “I know we have a controversy on our hands.
