Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 2, 1 February 1994 — Native Hawaiians speak out at 1993 Tourism Congress [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Native Hawaiians speak out at 1993 Tourism Congress

by Patrick Johnston Tourism has hurt, not helped, many Hawaiians. Unless things are improved, Hawai'i's appeal as a vacation destination will suffer, not only from the loss of aloha spirit, but also from Hawaiian groups angry at the insensitive treatment of their culture and land. This message is not new but a staged — and state-sponsored — demonstration by members of the 'Ohana Council at December's Tourism Congress helped send it loud and clear to industry and govemment leaders. "You cannot sell culture without ingredients," said 'Ohana Council leader Dennis "Bumpy" Kanahele, "and those ingredients are us." Kanahele, who eame to the eongress armed with "security" personnel and plenty of pro-sover-eignty rhetoric, said the most important thing for the government to do now was to educate tourists, the tourist industry, and other non-Hawaiians about the sovereignty movement and the illegal possession of Hawaiian lands. He stressed that if nonHawaiians don't understand sovereignty correctly they might be scared by the movement and not visit the islands. On the other hand, he threatened that if the industry ignored the Hawaiian movement tourists might have good reason not to eome. "If you want tourism to work you have to get the state and the federal govemment to recognize the stmggle," he said. Kanahele was one of five members of the Hawaiian Culture Task Force that included OHA's eeonomie development officer Linda Colburn. They were the first group to speak to congress participants. Colbum pointed out how dramatically the Hawaiian landscape had changed since the invasion of large-scale tourist investment in the 1960s and 1970s and how a schism had been created between the industry and the community. "We have to redo the relationship between the community and the (tourist) industry," she said. "There has been an estrangement. ... If the industry only meets its own kind then there is a limit to how mueh it ean do." Colbum suggested more cooperation between tourism and "pur-

veyors of culture" — hālau, artisans, museums - helping what are essentially non-profit organizations become more economically self-sufficient. She also would like to see more consultation between the industry and Hawaiian culture and language experts, preservation partnerships like those at the Kā'anapali hotel that work to preserve historic sites, more indigenous plants used at hotels, and a Hawaiian protocol established in the state. 'Ohana Council member Iaukea Bright illustrated how ineffectively tourism is working with loeal industry by displaying a number of hotel gift shop items all elaiming to be Hawai'i memorabilia but not made in Hawai'i. As an alternative to these products Bright showed a variety of items, such as macadamia nut salad dressing and Hawaiian Butters that are made in Hawai'i and are a better reflection of the loeal culture. "Whieh products help Hawai'i?" he asked. "The ones made in Hawai'i." Govemor John Waihe'e, HVB president Tom Sakata and Department of Business, Eeonomie Development, and Tourism director Mufi Hanneman also spoke at the Congress and stressed, in various degrees, the importance of sensitive treatment of Hawaiian culture and land and the inclusion of more Hawaiians in the industry. The strongest statement eame from Waihe'e, who said that issues surrounding Hawaiians and Hawaiian culture are the biggest the industry has to face now and in the future. Colbum said after the conferenee that their messge was better received - and so more likely to be taken seriously - at this year's congress because of the difficulties the industry is now facing. "HVB has invested millions of dollars into advertising and promotion in the past few years without significantly improving the downswing in the industry," Colburn explained. "People are beginning to realize that the way you differentiate a holiday destination is by having that plaee reflect its uniqueness. Hālau, lauhala weaving, wa'a (outrigger canoes), these are things that are found in Hawai'i and people will eome to see that."

Recommendations by the Hawaiian Culture Task Force to the 1993 Tourism Congress Problem: There is a laek of of Hawaiian culture by many in the tourism industry. Recommendations: Educate all employees from decision-makers to bus drivers on different aspects of Hawaiian culture and make knowledge of the culture a prerequisite for career advancement. Support Hawaiian culture and language initiatives at the grade-school level to help educate everyone in the state about Hawaiian history and culture. Problem: There are not enough Hawaiians providing leadership in the industry. Recommendations: Develop career opportunities for native Hawaiians by recmiting, training, retaining and aggressively promoting more Hawaiians in all levels of the industry. Encourage Hawaiian artisans and businesses by promoting ethnie Hawaiian talent in the development and day-to-day running of the hotels and other tourist venues. Problem: There is an inaccurate depiction of Hawai'i in marketing efforts. Recommendations: Use Hawaiians to test the accuracy and relevancy of promotional messages. Show the real, not manicured, beauty of Hawai'i's landscape and try to attract a more environmentally-sen-sitive market. Problem: The industry has alienated a large segment of the population whieh now views it in a negative light. Recommendations: Consult with comntunity groups and use forums (radio, TV) to have more community participation in the development and running of tourist businesses. Use native Hawaiian resources to educate and more respectfully use Iands used for tourist-related purposes. Problem: The industry wants "aloha spirit" and yet engages in development and employment practices that do far more to destroy that spirit than enhanee it. Recommendations: Look to see whether the cost of improving working conditions and benefits is offset by reduced turnover, training, quality of work performances, fewer work stoppages, reduced customer and worker complaints, and improved job satisfaction. Create smaller, more community-based tourist alternatives. Problem: The industry has cheapened Hawaiian culture by selling inexpensive, and often offensive items depicting Hawaiian culture. Recommendations: Consult and coordinate with loeal artists and guilds, business consultants and Hawaiian entrepreneurs to identify and develop products made in Hawai'i by Hawaiians. Use venture capital to help start up Hawaiian-owned businesses. Problem: The ratio of tourists to residents - in particular to native Hawaiians - is far too high. Recommendations: Develop strategies that would increase the return on eaeh visitor and make them stay longer instead of being primarily concerned with volume. Problem: Visitors' laek of education on the sovereignty issue may make the situation worse. Recommendations: Include information about the overthrow and the current sovereignty movement in visitor industry education, greeting and safety programs conducted by the Hawai'i Visitors Bureau, hotels, airlines and tour agencies.

'Ohana Oouneil stages state-sponsored demonstration.