Hawaii Brings A New Message To Canada

Those vacationing in Hawaii are being invited to help preserve the type of natural state attributes that attract tourists there in the first place.

Speakers at Thursday’s extremely well-attended and successful Aloha Canada 2021 Virtual Event — which showcased Hawaiian tourism — repeatedly noted tourists are welcome to join locals in practicing “malama” — an indigenous term meaning to care for.

“It is so important to malama our Hawaiian Islands,” said Karishma Chowfin of Oahu’s tourist board.

Chowfin said tourists can do their part to safeguard the Hawaiian environment through such steps as staying on authorized trails when hiking and dining in ocean-friendly restaurants. Those eateries have taken such measures as refusing to use styrofoam containers.

Pristine landscapes are seen as central to Hawaiian tourism, with speakers frequently citing the likes of white-sand beaches, clear ocean water and lush forests.

Deanna Isbister of the Island of Hawaii said available volunteer work for visitors includes helping with forest restoration and conserving native plants, with latter work possibly including “cutting invasive plants like ginger.”

Randy Parker of the Maui Visitors Bureau said such volunteer work will enrich both the tourists and the volunteers.

He invited tourists to “take photos and memories” but leave other reminders of nature in place.

Maile Brown of the Kaua’i Visitors Bureau said that tourist board welcomes having tourists “help us take care of the island.”

Brown also invited visitors to eat at ocean-friendly restaurants, view wildlife from a distance and participate in regularly scheduled beach clean-ups.

Those who take such measures will receive “our gratitude,” she declared.

For more, go to https://www.gohawaii.com/ca

And watch for a full report from the Island of Hawaii, Kauai, Maui and Oahu in the Nov. 1, 2021 issue of CANADIAN TRAVEL PRESS.