Hello, friend,
A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to get to know Kū'ike Kamakea-Ohelo, a native Hawaiian father, farmer and entrepreneur who was born and raised in Waimānolo, on Oahu's windward coast, where he lives today.
Kū'ike was incredibly warm and kind, and eager to share his story with me. He was also very clear about his feelings toward tourists.
“How can tourism benefit Waimanalo?" he said. "I will tell you how: Stop coming.”
Of course, Kū'ike isn't the only Hawaiian to hold this view, but (from what I saw, at least), he's not in the majority, either.
In Hawai'i, I also spent a lot of time with John De Fries, a native Hawaiian who leads the state's tourism authority and who hopes to guide the local tourism industry in a different direction -- one that's in line with the values instilled in him by his parents and grandparents. But of course there are a lot of vested interests in sticking to the current model, which employs more than 200,000 people and brings in $2 billion in state tax revenue. There aren't any easy answers here.
I'm home from Hawai'i now and doing my best to capture all of these personalities and debates in my next chapter of the book. My editor is waiting for the chapter draft. We'll see what I can do.
|