stopthatgirl7Hawaii fires: 'Tourists swim in the waters we died in'
The jarring contrast between those holidaying and those hurting is hard to bear for many in Hawaii.
TragicNotCuteThe loss of life is tragic, but I’m not sure what she’s upset about. Tourists didn’t come there to mock or make light. They just have bad timing in paradise.
SomeoneElseTourism will play a huge part in helping the community recover economically too. They’re going to need tourists to stay/come back asap. I thought the Greek president was canny to offer tourists affected by the wildfires in Rhodes a free holiday next year.
I hear the challenge right now is that even before the fire there was a housing shortage. Tourists should not travel to Hawaii right now if those hotel beds can instead be used to shelter displaces people near term.
DreamButtYa exactly. “It’s okay if a local people are exploited by industry and country. It helps the economy” is such a terrible take and I genuinely don’t know why people here are defending it
Is it always exploitation? Couldn’t an argument be made that tourists in tourist areas are the ones being exploited?
girlfreddyNo what? We’re not making the same argument.
I was thinking more along the lines of a large proportion of locals must work in the tourist industry - whether that’s owning hotels, working in them, owning touristy shops, tour guides, surf instructors etc etc. The locals haven’t just suffered loss of life, property and sites of historic importance, a lot of them will lose their jobs without tourism. “Economy” was the wrong term I guess. People need those jobs not just to live but to rebuild their lives and their property.
I'm hoping that the Hawaii and Maui gov'ts don't allow rich people to grab the land afterwards, instead allocating all of it to traditional Hawaiian people.
I mean it's already being reported in the news that this is a fear.
https://fortune.com/2023/08/13/maui-wildfire-destruction-locals-fear-rebuilding-will-favor-rich-outsiders/?ref=biztoc.com
