DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM KA ʻOIHANA HOʻOMOHALA PĀʻOIHANA, ʻIMI WAIWAI A HOʻOMĀKAʻIKAʻI

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM
KA ʻOIHANA HOʻOMOHALA PĀʻOIHANA, ʻIMI WAIWAI A HOʻOMĀKAʻIKAʻI

HONOLULU – The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority (HTA) is taking the next steps in its Destination Management Action Plan (DMAP) process.

From September to December 2025, HTA facilitated more than 30 in-person and virtual community listening sessions across the Hawaiian Islands. These sessions allowed residents to share ideas for tourism that preserve cultural, historic and environmental resources, while supporting community well-being, ensuring alignment with each island’s unique identity and values.

The insights gathered from these community and DMAP Advisory Group meetings informed the draft DMAP for responsible tourism management at the island level. The draft plans will be shared with the public during a series of community virtual meetings. Participants must reside on the respective island, since these are island-specific actions.

“The community’s voice is important to us. We want to manage tourism in a manner that is consistent with what the community wants and the visitor industry needs,” said Caroline Anderson, HTA’s interim president and CEO. “Residents freely shared their insights with us and we listened and paid attention. We would not have been able to move these destination management action plans forward without their valuable feedback.”

The following is a schedule of HTA’s upcoming virtual community sharing meetings. Registration is required to receive the Zoom links to the virtual community meetings. Register at: hawaiitourismauthority.org/what-we-do/events/

Hawai‘i Island: Thursday, Feb. 12, Noon – 1 p.m.
Oʻahu: Wednesday, Feb. 18., 10 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Maui: Wednesday, Feb. 18, Noon – 1 p.m.
Lāna‘i: Wednesday, Feb. 18, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Kauaʻi: Thursday, Feb. 19, Noon – 1 p.m.
Molokaʻi: Wednesday, Feb. 25, Noon – 1 p.m.