PSPINC CEO Kenichi Uchikura's Blog

RESERVATION SYSTEM

All visitors and commercial operators will need to make reservations to enter the popular Waiʻānapana State Park on Maui, beginning on March 1. Before the COVID-19 pandemic the popular park, located near the end of the famous Hana Highway in East Maui, had seen increased crowding and a glut of commercial tours. This impacted the adjacent rural community and overall visitor experiences. New fees for entry and parking will also be in effect when the reservation system is launched. Entry and parking for Hawaiʻi residents will still be free.

Wai’ānapanapa, which means glistening waters, with Pa‘iola, its famous black sand beach and stunning coastal views, will be the second state park in Hawaiʻi to require reservations. It is the first to integrate commercial tours into its reservation system. This follows the successful implementation of the Hāʻena State Park reservation system, which was implemented after the 2018 flood. It is largely credited with bringing serenity back to one of the most impacted regions of the state by implementing a reservation and shuttle system and establishing limits on the number of daily visitors. At Wai’ānapanapa, like at Hāʻena on Kaua‘i, parking spaces will be held back to accommodate Hawai‘i residents.

“This balances State Park’s critical need for revenue with the commercial tours paying a fair rate for their use of the park. It enables us to adjust patronage numbers to reduce crowding and impacts on the sensitive resources of the park,” said DLNR Division of State Parks Administrator Curt Cottrell. Also, and just as important, we can reduce the impact on our neighbors. As a former resident of Hana, living right next to Wai’ānapanapa, it feels good to support a process that will help my former neighbors. Quality over quantity is our new target in management,” Cottrell added.

Initially, reservations will be taken 2 weeks in advance due to continuing uncertainties about COVID-19 rules and restrictions. This window will be extended over time. Reservations must be made in advance and no same-day reservations there will be available.

“This new reservation system for Waiʻānapanapa State Park is critical to a larger effort to better manage traffic flow coming into East Maui,” said Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English, whose district encompasses the area around Waiʻānapanapa . “This is a new way to better manage the impacts of tourism on our local communities and I look forward to working with DLNR to implement these types of systems in other areas of my district.”

Kenichi Uchikura
President / CEO
Pacific Software Publishing, Inc.
ken.uchikura＠pspinc.com

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