Travel
‘Our grief is still fresh’: Locals petition to delay tourism reopening after Hawaii wildfires
Hawaii has changed. ‘You shouldn’t be there expecting people to serve you your mai tais and your food,’ says one local.
Hawaiians have delivered a petition asking to delay tourism reopening following the summer wildfires.
Residents from fire-stricken Lahaina delivered their appeal to Hawaii Governer Josh Green on Tuesday. They oppose plans to reopen a portion of West Maui to tourism starting this weekend, saying the grieving community is not ready to welcome back visitors.
The petition, signed by 3,517 people from West Maui zip codes, comes amid a fierce and anguished debate over when travellers should return to the region. It ishome to the historic town of Lahaina that was destroyed in the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century.
At least 98 people died in the 8 August blaze and more than a dozen are still missing. The first phase of the plan to reopen Maui to tourists begins on Sunday, the two-month anniversary of the disaster.
Though many residents say they are not ready, others say they need tourism so they can work in hotels and restaurants to earn a living.
‘Our grief is still fresh’: Residents say they should be consulted on Hawaii’s reopening
“We are not mentally nor emotionally ready to welcome and serve our visitors. Not yet,” restaurant bartender Pa‘ele Kiakona said at a news conference before several dozen people delivered the petition. “Our grief is still fresh and our losses too profound.”
Tamara Paltin, who represents Lahaina on the Maui County Council, said two months may seem like a long time, but she noted Lahaina residents didn’t have reliable cellphone service or internet for the first month after the fire and have been coping with uncertain housing. She said many people, including herself, can’t sleep through the night.
Paltin urged the governor to decide on when to reopen after consulting residents in an “open and transparent way.”
Several dozen people dressed in red T-shirts went to Green’s koa wood-paneled executive chambers to deliver the signatures in person. Green was not in his office, so his director of constituent services, Bonnelley Pa’uulu, accepted the box on his behalf. Altogether, 14,000 people signed the petition as of midday Tuesday.
‘Local people will have to leave if they don’t have jobs’
Green told the Hawaii News Now interview program ‘Spotlight Now’ shortly afterward that he was “utterly sympathetic” to people’s suffering. But he said more than 8,000 people have lost their jobs due to the fire and getting people back to work was part of recovering.
“It’s my job as governor to support them, to be thoughtful about all people and to make sure Maui survives, because people will otherwise go bankrupt and have to leave the island, have to move out of Maui,” he said. “Local people – these are middle-class people that lived in Lahaina – will have to leave if they don’t have jobs.”
Maui, which is famous around the world for its beaches and waterfalls, is among the most tourism-dependent islands in Hawaii.
The number of visitors plummeted 70 per cent after the fire when Green and tourism officials discouraged “non-essential travel” to the island. University of Hawaii economists estimate unemployment will top 10 per cent on Maui, compared to 2.5 per cent in July. The resulting economic downturn is expected to depress state tax revenues.
When is West Maui due to reopen?
A few weeks after the fire, the tourism industry began urging travellers to respectfully visit parts of Maui unaffected by the blaze, like Wailea and Makena. Then last month Green announced that West Maui – a long expanse of coastline encompassing Lahaina and hotels and condos to its north – would reopen to tourists on 8 October.
Maui Mayor Richard Bissen last week narrowed the geographic scope of this plan, saying that only the northernmost section of West Maui – a 5-kilometre stretch including the Ritz-Carlton Kapalua – would resume taking tourists. The rest of the region, where most of Lahaina’s evacuees are staying, would reopen at a later, unspecified date.
The first phase to be reopened under the mayor’s plan – from Kapalua to the Kahana Villa – is 11 to 16 kilometres and a 15- to 20-minute drive north of the area that burned. Bissen said second and third phases, both covering zones closer to the burned parts of Lahaina, would reopen after officials assess earlier phases.
Green said only one or two hotels would reopen on Sunday, calling it a “gentle start”.
Some residents aren’t ready to return to work
Restaurant bartender Kiakona said he’s among those not ready to go back to work. He said he doesn’t want to constantly be asked if he lost his home and to have “somebody consistently reminding you of the disaster that you just went through.”
Green said people who aren’t ready to go back to work won’t need to. He said they would continue to receive benefits and housing.
“But what I say to them is think of your neighbour or think of the business next door to you,” Green said. “Or think of the impact of having only, say, 40 per cent of the travellers that we normally have to Maui.”
The governor said a lack of tourism would make it harder for the state to rebuild the elementary school that burned in the fire and provide residents with healthcare coverage.
Charles Nahale, a musician who lost all his gigs singing and playing the ukulele and guitar for tourists, recounted recently seeing tourists at a restaurant a few miles from the burn zone. They appeared oblivious and unsympathetic to those around them, he said.
“This is not a normal tourist destination like it was prior to the fire,” he said by telephone from Lahaina. “You shouldn’t be there expecting people to serve you your mai tais and your food.”
Nahale said grieving was more critical to him than getting back to work.
“What is more important to me is that these thousands, including me, have the time to heal,” he said. “What’s more important to me is that we have the time to be normal again.”
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Tourists have been caught smuggling all kinds of stolen souvenirs home from holidays, from artefacts picked up in Pompeii to sand from Italy’s famous pink beach on the island of Sardinia.
The Belgian city of Bruges is the latest victim of keepsake crime, but the item visitors have taken a fancy to is unexpected.
The city council has reported the theft of dozens of cobblestones from the city centre, and suspects tourists are the culprits.
Tourists suspected of pilfering Bruges’ cobblestones
Bruges’ cobblestones are increasingly being pilfered from well-known spots in the UNESCO-designated historic centre, public property councillor Franky Demon reported this week.
“At iconic locations such as Minnewater, Vismarkt, Markt and Gruuthusemuseum, it is estimated that 50 to 70 pieces of cobblestone disappear every month. And that number could be even higher,” Demon told press.
“The phenomenon increases significantly, especially during busy tourist periods such as spring and summer,” he added.
For this reason, authorities suspect visitors are pocketing the stone as souvenirs.
‘Leave that cobblestone where it belongs’
As well as damaging a valuable part of the city’s heritage, the stolen stones have created safety issues.
The gaps from removed stones present trip hazards for pedestrians – and are costly to repair.
“It’s unfortunate that our employees constantly have to go out to fix potholes and loose stones. This causes a lot of additional work and costs: about 200 euros per square metre of reconstruction,” explained Demon.
The councillor urged visitors to respect the historical environment of Bruges.
“We simply ask for respect. Anyone walking through Bruges crosses centuries of history. Leave that cobblestone where it belongs,” he said.
Bruges’ cobblestones are apparently not the only sought-after street souvenir.
Along the famous Paris-Roubaix cycling route, tourists are known to pilfer parts of the pavement.
While Rome’s iconic ‘sampietrini’ – cobblestones made of solidified lava – have also disappeared into suitcases over the years.
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Travel
‘Inequality and infinite growth’: Canary Islands anti-tourism protests reignite amid record arrivals
This weekend, residents of Spain’s Canary Islands are coming out in force to protest against mass tourism.
People on the archipelago have been growing increasingly vocal about its struggles with visitor numbers.
Last year, locals held multiple protests to highlight overtourism’s strain on local infrastructure and housing availability. They look set to continue again this summer as residents say little has been done to tackle the problem.
Protests planned across Spain against overtourism
On Sunday, 18 May, residents of the Canary Islands will take to the streets to join protests organised by campaign group Canarias tiene un límite (The Canary Islands have a limit).
Demonstrations will be held on all the islands of the archipelago as well as in several cities across Spain.
Protests will begin at 11 am on the seven main Canary Islands – El Hierro, La Palma, La gomera, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura – and at 12pm on mainland cities including Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia.
Residents in the German capital of Berlin are also planning to take to the streets in solidarity.
Why are residents of the Canary Islands protesting?
The organisers say they are protesting to oppose the current economic model “based on overtourism, speculation, inequality and the infinite growth on very limited land”.
Instead, they want a transition to a people-centred, environmentally responsible model that respects the archipelago’s ecological and social needs.
Specifically, they are calling for a halt to destructive hotel projects across the islands and the building of a motor circuit on Tenerife; a moratorium on new tourist developments; guaranteed access for residents to healthcare and housing; and a functional ecological tourist tax.
The group also wants the immediate introduction of measures to curb marine pollution and the creation of an environmental restoration law.
Canary Islands receive record number of tourists in March
Earlier this month, authorities announced that the Canary Islands received more than 1.55 million foreign visitors in March, up 0.9 per cent on the record set in the same month last year.
The figures were released by the Canary Islands National Statistics Institute (INE), which added that the total number of international tourists for the first quarter of 2025 was 4.36 million, an increase of 2.1 per cent year-on-year.
The tourist influx comes despite dozens of protests staged last year by Canary Island residents against mass tourism.
Similar demonstrations have already taken place this year. Over Easter, around 80,000 hospitality workers in Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro walked out in a dispute with unions over pay.
Author
A 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of the Greek island of Crete early this morning, Wednesday 14 May.
Authorities issued a tsunami alert in the area shortly after the tremor, which was felt as far away as Israel, Syria and Egypt.
Tourists are being warned to stay away from coastal areas in the popular holiday spot.
Here is the latest travel information from the local government.
Tourists in Crete urged to move away from coastlines
The earthquake was at a depth of 35 kilometres with its epicentre near the islands of Kasos and Karpathos in the Aegean Sea.
Greece’s Ministry for Climate Crisis and Civil Protection issued a precautionary tsunami warning for the area, including the east coast of Crete and the island of Rhodes.
Authorities urged residents and tourists on the island to keep away from the coastline and move to higher ground.
“A magnitude 5.9 earthquake occurred 48km SE of Kasos. Risk of possible Tsunami in your area,” the Ministry posted on its X account this morning. The magnitude was later updated to 6.0.
“Move away from the coast immediately. Follow the instructions of Local Authorities.”
Samaria Gorge, one of Crete’s most popular hiking routes, is temporarily closed as officials check for any damage done to the route.
“The Natural Environment and Climate Change Organisation announces that due to the earthquake that occurred today south of Kasos, the gorge will remain closed to visitors in order to check the route for possible rockfalls,” authorities said. “A further announcement will be made late this afternoon.”
Crete earthquake: Is it safe to travel and am I entitled to compensation?
Foreign governments have not issued travel advisories as yet, so it is currently still considered safe to visit Greece and its islands.
This also means that, should you choose not to go ahead with your trip, you are unlikely to receive compensation.
Depending on your travel insurance policy, you may be able to receive a refund for some or all of your trip if it includes compensation for cancellations due to natural disasters. Check with your provider and read your terms and conditions carefully.
There have been no reports so far of injuries or major damage from the earthquake, but authorities are monitoring the situation closely and have warned people should remain vigilant.
If you are on holiday in or about to travel to Crete, Kasos or Karpathos, make sure you stay up to date with the latest information.
Crete and its surrounding region are considered one of Europe’s most seismically active zones.
In October 2021, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake shook the island just weeks after another tremor killed one person and injured several others.
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