Input sought on tourism management planning

Virtual meetings are established for Maui County

The Hawaii Tourism Authority is seeking community input on its plans to better manage tourism for each county.

The agency is working to create four Destination Management Action Plans that will provide an appropriate balance between the economic benefits of tourism and impact on local services, natural and cultural resources and residents’ quality of life, HTA said in a news release Tuesday. The purpose is to rebuild, redefine and reset tourism’s direction over a three-year period.

Each county and its respective visitors bureau have worked to create steering committees comprised of residents representing their communities, the visitor industry, different business sectors and nonprofits. Steering committees for Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kauai began meeting in September. Hawaii island’s committee will meet starting this month, while Oahu’s will convene in January.

Ideas generated during the steering committee meetings will be shared with the public during a series of interactive meetings that will be held via Zoom. Participants must reside on the respective island being discussed, since these are island-specific actions, HTA said. Space is limited and registration is required. HTA will also post meetings on its website for those who are unable to attend.

Meetings in Maui County will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. on:

● Oct. 27 for Lanai. RSVP by Oct. 20 at http://bit.ly/ LanaiDMAPCommMtg.

● Oct. 28 for Maui. RSVP by Oct. 26 at http://bit.ly/ MauiDMAPCommMtg.

● Oct. 29 for Molokai. RSVP by Oct. 26 at http:// bit.ly/MolokaiDMAPComm Mtg.

Proposed actions will be available the week of Oct. 15 for Kauai and the week of Oct. 19 for Maui Nui.

To review proposed actions or to provide input, visit www. hawaiitourismauthority.org/ what- we- do/ hta- programs/ community-based-tourism/.