As a crush of vaccinated tourists head to Hawaii for a post-pandemic reprieve, at least one island is looking for ways to maintain the sense of calm that came during the COVID-19 crisis - and it could cost you.
"Our beaches have really been inundated by not only visitors but our residents who got used to having the beach to themselves," Maui Mayor Mike Victorino told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
That’s why Victorino is considering a slew of new fees and limits for tourists, particularly at some of Maui’s most visited parks and beaches.
Asked specifically about the kinds of fees under deliberation, Victorino said visitors to Maui would "share a little cost in maintaining and protecting our environment and our resources," pointing to items like paid parking at beaches for visitors.
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Parking would be free for residents.
Victorino said officials are also looking at a possible expansion of Maui’s successful reservation system, which tourists are already subject to at popular places like Haleakala National Park and Waianapanapa State Park, to other parts of the island. "We will charge our visitors to come in and limit the number of people who do come in each and every day," Victorino said.
Maui adopted a policy of no commercial activities at beaches and parks on Sunday back in 2019, something that could be stretched to other days like Saturday, he added.
"We are working on plans right now for other beaches and other areas throughout Maui County to be preserved…and make sure it’s not being taxed beyond its means," Victorino said.
The island could add a so-called "transpacific vaccination exception" in July and discontinue secondary tests for arriving tourists sometime that same month, should COVID-19 positivity rates among visitors continue to decline.
According to Hawaii’s travel dashboard, almost 100,000 people arrived in Hawaii last weekend alone, part of an escalating trend.
A little more than one-quarter were visitors to Maui.
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