Islanders irked over tourism

A survey shows that a majority of residents believe that tourism governs isle policies

For the first time, a state-backed survey of Hawaii residents has found that a majority believe the islands are being run for tourists at the expense of local people.

The count of people sharing that sentiment toward the state's visitor industry increased 7 percentage points in the 2005 Survey of Resident Sentiments on Tourism in Hawaii, which was conducted by Market Trends Pacific Inc. and John M. Knox and Associates Inc. for the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

The survey, designed to measure feelings toward the state's top economic driver, was last conducted in 2002. It also was conducted in 1988, 1993, 1999 and 2001.

In 2005, for the first time, a majority -- 55 percent -- of the 1,352 Hawaii residents surveyed agreed with the statement, "This island is being run for tourists at the expense of local people."

John Knox, who presented survey results to the Hawaii Tourism Authority yesterday, said, "People do have the aloha spirit. People don't dislike tourists. This is more about people being resentful that decision-makers aren't keeping up with the growth."

The survey's margin of error was plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

Residents rated the state's marketing and advertising more positively than they did in previous surveys but dropped their ratings of nearly every other category.

Survey results show a clear trend since 1988 for residents in all counties to be less likely to say that tourism has been mostly good for them and their families. Only 6 percent of people statewide said tourism had been bad for them.

Tallied by ethnic group, Fili- pinos were most likely to say that tourism was good for them in 2005 -- 56 percent -- while Hawaiians -- 31 percent -- were the least likely. Those surveyed who had family working in tourism were the most positive about the visitor industry.

While more residents recognized in the 2005 survey that tourism offers a wide variety of jobs, many still believe that there is little opportunity to advance in the visitor industry.

"There is still a perception that visitor industry jobs are characterized by poor hours and pay and that outsiders take the best ones," Knox said.

Statewide concerns relating to population growth, such as an increase in home prices, traffic and crime and a decrease in nature and wide-open spaces, escalated. Nearly 70 percent of Maui residents and 68 percent of West Hawaii residents surveyed indicated that they had concerns about population growth, while residents living in underpopulated islands like Molokai and Lanai indicated that population growth was not a problem.

Hawaii residents also were more concerned about the preservation of the Hawaiian culture, the number and quality of parks, and pollution than they were in 2002. They were more supportive of government spending to restore and sustain parks, marine preserves and other scenic attractions.

While residents do not want to see more hotels built, they would like to see more of them restored and new scenic attractions and parks built.

Hawaiians were the most opposed to new hotels, with 84 percent of those surveyed against the concept. Filipinos who were surveyed were the least opposed to new hotel development; however, even 60 percent of them were against hotel growth.

Support for improvements in visitor areas declined 11 percentage points from 2002 to 2005. Still, residents would like to see more tourism dollars spent on festivals, arts and cultural activities.

Attitudes toward other visitor accommodations such as bed-and-breakfasts and vacation rentals were split; however, most Oahu and Kauai residents said that they do not believe that these accommodations are a necessary part of Hawaii's visitor industry. About 70 percent of those surveyed said that there is a need to regulate transient accommodations and limit them to areas where they are welcomed by residents.

State tourism officials will review the results of the survey to address resident concerns about the visitor industry, said State Tourism Liaison Marsh Wienert.

"Any change is critical," Wienert said. "We can't have a disconnect between the industry and our residents."