A tourism executive said, “We haven’t seen such revenue and visitor declines in Maui since we’ve been keeping records.”(on condition of remaning anonomus)

A fresh sign of the woes are being unleashed by a Maui economy mired in boom-time pricing marketing and the Great Recession.

Those vacationing on Maui are, unfortunately, not finding ways to reduce their restaurant and activities expenses once here. Visitor confidence in finding reasonably priced activities and restaurants in Lahaina/Kaanapali is exceptionally low.

Next year will not be any better than this year if the needs of visitors cannot be met.

And wow! I had not seen this post until now and I feel like I was missing out. First I would like to thank you (and you too Kris!) for the lovely things you have to say about the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa. It was great to have you and Andy stay on property! You are both welcome back anytime, and I truly hope that your experiences on the Road to Hana will not spoil the beauty of Maui forever.

I’m a newbie – here for only a year and a half so far – and I can tell you the people from Maui that stick out in my mind are people like my friend who is determined to teach me to surf or share a hike off the beaten path, or my co-worker that invites me to camp with her (and her very large extended family) in Hana whenever they go. Those are the people to care about, not the angry folks.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, try and remember there’s good people out there waiting for your return.

Aloha!
Jocelyn

I’m really happy you guys loved the Sheraton Maui Resort. We’ve always been biased because it’s the only placed we’ve stayed at, but to hear multi-island veterans as you and Andy give it the same kudos makes me smile.

Thanks for the notes on the Feast of Lele, it sounds like something we’re definitely going to try out for ourselves. Watching those whales out of the water is always exciting, especially later in the season when you don’t think you’ll see much. I’ve seen some of Andy’s photos from Hana on Flickr and they look as amazing as any I’ve seen.

It was also neat to see you were able to meet up with Liza and keep our little Maui Tweetup tradition alive. I will say, however, that Easter Day services will probably go down as the most formal of those meetings.

I, personally, and one of those folks guilty of sweeping this type of stuff under the rug on my blog. It’s not so much as denial or trying to mislead my readers that Maui is a 100% perfect paradise. It just pains me to relive those moments, as they do exist, when the vast majority of my memories are so amazing.

We’ve had a few less-than-ideal moments on our trips to the islands, and I imagine those living on the islands encounter more of them throughout the year than just the short time people like us get to visit. Someone here mentioned about the differences between living and visiting here, and perhaps because we are on vacation and not trying to make ends meet, we arrive with rose colored glasses.

I recall our first experience of some of the realities of how Hawaii is just like everywhere else. It was when Cindy and I were honeymooning in Waikiki and we saw the homeless living along the beach areas early in the mornings. Homeless people in Hawaii, just like here in Chicago, right in the middle of the tourism capital of Oahu. The ones we saw were ultimately harmless, but it was a sobering reminder that problems like these exist everywhere.

You mentioned this was a difficult post to write, but I applaud you for doing something that I’m not sure I could have done myself. From the responses here, it was obviously the right decision to share this with everyone.

Much like everyone else, I appreciate your candor. It’s just painful to hear. It hurts worse, I think, because I know how much you love our home.

They’re just stupid and they need a few slaps and a couple of back-hands! I hope you and Andy will try to let it roll off as just plain juevenile stupidity. Regardless of their biological age, their behavior says otherwise.

You know you’re always welcome here! So, when’s your flight?

Nobody likes that guy or takes him too seriously.

My advice is – Don’t take it personal and try your best to ignore grouchy people like that. They have problems and you are not it.

I’m grateful for the support many of you have shown to me through your comments and privately. It was really hard to write this post, but it has been a bit of a relief.

My good experiences with locals does outweigh the bad experiences. I think when you have a bad experience no matter where it is, it leaves you feeling a bit of shock like a deer in the headlights.

I too have driven the road to Hana and understand how it can be a stressful experience. It certainly is beautiful, but the narrow roads that twist and turn made it one of the most stressful drives I’ve done. But in the end, it was worth it! To hear what happened to you and the family on top of it all was uncalled for and embarassing. It’s unfortunate that these types of things happen to good people like you and as friend born and raised in Hawaii, it’s truly not the island way. Why people chose to act this way towards our visitors I have no idea. But it’s clear they don’t embrace the Aloha Spirit we aim to share with each and everyone that touches our shores. I hope you’ll give Hawaii a second chance to make things right and as you know, you have a lot of friends here that would enjoy the opportunity to make things right.

Aloha and a hui hou,
Nathan

One of the cool things about Hawaii is that it’s illegal to fence off the beach and keep people out.

The positive: You get to enjoy every beach in the island, including the beaches right in front of the best hotels, even if you are not staying there.

The negative: So does everyone else, including the occasional jerk.

In New York City – The rude people are one of the attractions… In Hawaii… Not so much.

We’ve driven the Road to Hana quite a few times. Our normal experience with locals is a friendly wave when we yield the right of way to them.

In 10+ trips to Maui, I’ve only had a few bad experiences with locals. Usually just a quick derogatory remark or look.

I was talking to a local guy one day and he said to me, “Man, I live in paradise, but I just don’t see it.” I think that sort of sums up the problem, we’re there visiting paradise, they’re just trying to make ends meet. Theres bound to be some resentment.

David

Well, I appreciate the whole picture version.
Hawaii is a beautiful Island and I respect we are only VISITORS to it.
But…. as you noted gently on your blog today it has an ugly side as well.

When Norm & I went to Hawaii last year for the 3 weeks to renew our vows and enjoy the beauty, we too encountered some of Hawaii’s hidden “Friends”.
on the road to Hana, we too found that the locals had more than a shaka to share when they insisted on pushing you off the road with negative words and that wonderful tall finger salute.
We were even accosted when we stopped once we reached a place large enough to pull over with a verbal assault of wonderful language. (I can tell you it would have made a sailor blush)
The native driver was inclined to share his views of how my mother must have raised me & how ignorant I must have been so I could not possibly have been from HIS island!
I did not interact with him, I simply rolled up my windows & we drove away to escape his “Island greeting”

But these stories are NEVER shared as if it is almost TABOO.
but there is a TRUE Hawaii, and it is REAL and it does happen.

We were walking in the evening to a restaurant for our anniversary dinner on Oahu when we came a cross a young person who was pushing a needle into his arm and all the while cursing the maker for his problems.
We were both appalled and frightened and concerned for not only our well being but his as well.
we DID call the police who advise they had REAL situations to deal with & this was not really a priority that we should just continue on our way!
Sad thing was we knew we had to walk the SAME way back to the hotel! With concern & fear for our own safety we did, but preparing for the unknown was not easy.
so I was a bit saddened by the response.

Or on the Big Island when we went into an open air market to get some fresh fruit & were offered Marijuana from a wonderful man, and the response my dear Husband shared was, No THANKS!, but the officer in that car parked over there might be.
I can not say I have ever seen a human being ‘Vaporize” in my life but he beat feet very quickly.

And in Lahaina Harbor, I believe we met your drunken friends relations, because at the most spectacular sunset I had seen on the Islands, he insisted on sharing his verbal colors with anyone within earshot at an extremely LOUD tone.
and a Lahaina Police Officer WALKED right NEXT to him as if it were just fine to be holding the jug of alcohol & cursing at the top of his lungs about how poor life hade treated him in public.
what a shame to have the smudge on the face of such a beautiful place, but it is the reality that EVERYWHERE even paradise has its difficult situations & it is just part of life. PERIOD!

But I applaud you for sharing these tidbits and being honest so there is not a candy coated blissful covering when people are planning to visit for the first time. a truthful FULL picture is the best!

Another honest reason I LOVE your Blog!
Thank you for sharing!
Lauri

*******

And when I asked Lauri if I could share here message in the comments and with some tourism folks, this was her follow up:

No worries, you are WELCOME to post it, share it or what ever works, and you can leave our names on it, I do not mind!

But the only thing I want people to know, is NOT to let this Miniscule part of the experience STOP them or FREEZE them in fear to the other SPECTACULAR wonders that await them! and the fact it is such a minute percentage of the experience that it should not deter from the BEAUTY of Hawaii.

I WILL go back!
I concluded that it was simply part of the OVERALL experience, good or bad, it was what it was.
I know in my heart I will always recall the Beauty, the kindness of MANY others and the Wonder of the islands to my memories!
I will NOT let the negative few moments in a 3 week visit tarnish the spectacular overall wonder of the Hawaiian Islands!

Did It make me more aware? does it make me more cautious? HECK yes! But My most heartfelt wish was to know how to prepare myself for the unknown.
I was a Virgin Visitor to Hawaii………… now I am educated with details that can help me in the next visit.

I just was VERY pleased to HEAR someone come forth and have the strength to mention the negative side, small, but important as well.

Sheila, you are a ONE IN A MILLION!
I love how you shoot straight from the hip!
Your experiences are VERY cut & dry with both positive & negative blended in the mixture.

The tourists who were on the road just drove by without offering help. The first local person who drove by stopped, asked us if we needed some help, took us to his house, got a gas can, siphoned some gas out of his truck and got us back on the road.

We tried to pay him for the gas and the help but he didn’t want anything. He even tried to make us feel better by saying that said that it’s pretty common for people to run out of gas on that road. Wow! – What a great guy! (Who knows how many people he’s helped?)

But yeah… No matter where you go… There will always be a few jerks, bitter failures and other anti-social people with mental disorders or whatever.

Just try your best to ignore them and don’t let them ruin your vacation.

It was great meeting you and your parents. I wish we had more time to chat. I hope you come visit again so we can “talk story” longer. Some rude locals will always be here, but I believe for every one rude person on Maui, there are hundreds nice and living ones who exudes the aloha spirit.

Aloha,
Liza