Aloha Bruce offers some tips on how to be a visitor and not a tourist in Hawaii on this Monday, August 29, 2022, episode of the Hawaii Vacation Podcast. Bruce uses his 22 years of experience in Hawaii vacation planning to share his insight into what it means to be a Hawaii visitor/traveler.

Our host starts off with a discussion of Kamau Bell’s recent CNN United Shades of America episode featuring Hawaii and views about tourism in Hawaii. “It did bring a lot of attention to the fact that Hawaii is changing,” Bruce says. He also mentions a development at the Hyatt Maui Resort and Spa that saw a land board deny the property permission to import more penguins into its popular exhibit/sanctuary over concerns about the propriety of the exhibit of non-native species. “Think those penguins are wonderful!” Bruce says.

Bruce also gives a proud shout-out to Hawaii’s little league baseball team for winning the Little League World Series to become world champions over the team from Curacao. “They’re gonna be treated like royalty when they get back!”

Bruce moves on to discuss a Money.com report that says Honolulu visitors pay the highest tax-to-tourist of any destination. Bruce mentions Hawaii resort fees and gets into the real numbers involved. “Hawaii really has to charge more than anywhere else,” he says, before he takes on the topic of how to be a visitor and not a tourist in Hawaii.

Bruce offers some aloha mentions for podcast listeners and social media community, and he says “There are a lot of decisions that need to be made about your trip here,” Bruce says. He mentions a client that wanted to spend seven nights on Oahu, and two nights each on Maui and the Big Island. He lists some of the “touristy” activities they hoped to do. “I immediately straightened them out,” he says about some of the common misconceptions about popular attractions on Oahu like the Polynesian Cultural Center.

“A tourist will stick out, a traveler blends in,” Bruce says. “Tourists sometimes draw negative attention to themselves.” He offers some common approaches “tourists” take towards a Hawaiian vacation and offers some tips about how to truly experience the real Hawaii. Bruce makes some important distinctions between “tourists” and “travelers”.

“I have so many things here!” Bruce says, speaking about all of the differences he sees between tourists and travelers/visitors. It’s important information on how to be a visitor and not a tourist in Hawaii. “Treat the destination as you would your own home,” Bruce says. He talks about avoiding taking on an attitude of “entitlement”. Go local, he urges, and book locally through Hawaii Aloha Travel and Secret Hawaii Tours. “You’re going to be a visitor, not a tourist!”

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