Governor of Hawaii talks about sports tourism, climate, rental

Tourists will see a new, more resilient Maui next year, thanks to billions in spending from the Hawaiian government, Hawaii Governor Josh Green said.

It’s been more than a year since a wildfire destroyed thousands of buildings and homes and killed more than 100 people in the western region of Maui, making it one of the deadliest disasters in U.S. history.

Although only 10% of the island was affected, coverage of the event gave the public the impression that the island was closed to tourism.

Visitor spending in Maui totaled $3.5 billion between January and August, down 20% from last year, according to the the latest data from the state government. Maui is Hawaii’s second most popular island for tourism.

Green spoke with Skift about rebuilding Maui, reducing short-term rentals, attracting sports tourism events and financing climate resilience.

Maui is rebuilding

According to the governor, 2024 was about laying the “foundation” for recovery, while 2025 will be about “deploying” resources.

All disaster waste has been removed. Hotels are ready to accommodate visitors and FEMA is joining local governments to build new housing units.

“Thousands of homes will rise, and small businesses will gradually return. People will see the recovery in real time,” Green said.

Green predicted significant interest from returning tourists who had previously visited Maui for their honeymoon, anniversary or special events.

“They’re going to want to come back and see the joy that comes with rebuilding people’s lives,” he said.

Reducing short-term rentals: ‘We must have housing for local families’

The wildfire crisis spotlighted Maui’s shortage of affordable housing. More than 8,000 people were displaced. The government initially entered into contracts with hotels to provide them with temporary shelter. Over time, the government had to find more alternative housing. It paid short-term rental owners “very competitive rates” to house them, Green said.

However, the governor said it was becoming clear that demand for short-term rentals was so high that it was crowding out housing for locals.

“People who own short-term rentals have earned about 385% more than they would with regular rentals,” says Green. “I’m a capitalist like everyone else, but we need housing for local families. That’s why we have hotel rooms and entertainment districts.”

Green wants to “gradually move a number” of short-term rental properties into the housing market. “We hope people will decide to sell their short-term rentals if they can and invest in other parts of the state or on the mainland,” he said.

To free up more housing, Green signed a bill earlier this year that clarifies the authority of provincial governments to regulate the time, place, manner and duration of land use, especially temporary accommodations, including short-term rentals.

Buoyed by the new legislation, local officials in Maui are considering phasing out thousands of short-term rentals.

Lahaina’s future in tourism

Locals are currently debating the future of Lahaina, a West Maui town completely destroyed by the fire. Lahaina was once the capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom and home to cultural and natural attractions.

Tourism will be part of Lahaina’s future. “There is no question that Lahaina will continue to have a very, very tourism-oriented economy,” Green said.

The governor highlighted the efforts of local organizations to restore Moku’ula Island, which is considered sacred by locals.

Tourism to fund Hawaii’s climate resilience

Since taking office, Green has focused on increasing revenues to make Hawaii more resilient to hurricanes, fires and other issues related to climate change. Funds can be used to help strengthen hotels, local businesses, beaches, parks and infrastructure against future risks such as storm surges and sea level rise.

“The truth is that historically we haven’t invested in climate resilience at all, and look what’s happened,” Green said.

Some ideas to fund these plans include charging a tourist tax, increasing the temporary accommodation tax or using part of the government’s $1.5 billion rainy day fund. Earlier this year, he proposed charging tourists a $25 climate impact fee.

“I think most travelers, if they knew they were paying $500 a night, would be happy to contribute $10 a day to ensure we have extra resilience against fires or floods. I think they would be very happy because they love Hawaii,” Green said.

The state plans to introduce betting on live events.

“We do a lot of sports tourism. You’ll see it in 2025,” Green said.

Hawaii aims for pre-Olympic swimming, running and other competitions. Located between Asia and Los Angeles (the host city for the 2028 Olympic Games), Hawaii is a prime location for these pre-Olympic events.

“If we get our way, we expect to host a number of friendly pre-Olympic games before 2028,” Green said.

Hawaii plans to host reunions for friends and families from Las Vegas, focusing on sporting events. Due to its large population of Hawaiians, Las Vegas has been nicknamed the Ninth Island.

Since the Maui wildfires, the state has also strengthened its ties with the NFL. Many teams donated to Hawaii, including the Steelers, Rams and Raiders.

The governor hopes to host more major sporting events once the new Aloha Stadium in Hālawa is built.

“I would like to see some regular season football games here, rather than maybe in Europe or other markets, once our stadium is finished,” Green said. “It would be smart to do them in Hawaii if I can get a real stadium built.”

A balanced approach to tourism

Since the pandemic, as visitor numbers dropped, Hawaii has focused more on encouraging travelers to stay “a few days longer” and have a more “immersive” experience, while managing visitor numbers to prevent certain locations from be flooded.

“We’re using our Hawaii Tourism Authority team to explain that,” Green said. “(Tourism) is actually more balanced now than before.”

The Hawaii Tourism Authority now has “a solid budget” and “a very strong board that I intentionally put in place so they can work with the Legislature,” the governor said.

“I say to the guys there, make sure my ROI is very important because I have to fund solutions for education, homelessness, climate resilience and housing,” he said.

Skift’s in-depth reporting on climate issues is made possible by the financial support of Intrepid Travel. This support allows Skift to bring you high-quality journalism on one of the most important topics facing our planet today. Intrepid is not involved in Skift editorial decisions.