New DMAPs for Big Island, Kaua‘i, Maui County and O‘ahu focus on hotspots under strain

The Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority released its 2026-28 Destination Management Action Plans for Hawai‘i Island, Kaua‘i, Lāna‘i, Maui, Moloka‘i and O‘ahu. Each island DMAP focuses on prioritized hotspots under strain, with actions to ease the pressure and improve how residents and visitors experience these places.

“These plans were shaped by residents on every island,” said Caroline Anderson, HTA interim president and CEO. “Community members told us what matters most for their home and together with visitor industry and government partners, helped define the priorities and actions in these plans so that tourism can operate with and for the communities it touches.”

HTA’s engagement process ensured input from community members, the visitor industry and government agencies directly shaped each plan. From August 2025 to March 2026, HTA conducted island-based engagement — including in-person and virtual community input sessions, island advisory group meetings, visitor industry sessions and a public comment period in February 2026 — supported by coordination with state and county agencies and ʻāina-based stewardship organizations. Together, these contributors identified priorities and actions that HTA and its partners will advance over the next three years.

Below are examples of prioritized sites and actions on each island:


• On Hawaiʻi Island, the Keaukaha community called for a coordinated approach to caring for its shoreline parks; the plan responds with sustained community-guided management. 
• On Kauaʻi, residents and the island advisory group placed Hoʻopiʻi Falls among their top priorities, guiding a community-first path toward long-term access and stewardship decisions there.
• On Lānaʻi, the plan takes a proactive approach at the Mānele–Hulopoʻe Corridor, the island’s primary arrival gateway — and aims to guide visitor movement before strain emerges.
• Maui’s plan prioritized a coordinated approach to the Hāna Highway in East Maui, including community-led stewardship at Keʻanae Peninsula shaped by local and generational knowledge.
• On Molokaʻi, residents and lineal descendants centered community authority over how visitors experience Hālawa Valley; the plan builds a community-led framework grounded in resident priorities and cultural protocols.
• O‘ahu’s plan makes the North Shore corridor a priority and advances community-informed approaches to visitor access, safety and mobility from Haleʻiwa through the Koʻolauloa coast.

Each plan commits to time-bound actions with defined roles and follow-through. HTA will document material changes to those actions and communicate each island’s progress through ongoing reporting and engagement. Implementation will be coordinated by HTA’s island-based destination managers — Kui Adolpho (Molokaʻi), Blane Andrade (Oʻahu), Meagan DeGaia (Maui and Lānaʻi), Patti Ornellas (Kauaʻi) and Matthew Sueda (Hawaiʻi Island) — working alongside agency, community and industry partners.

“Our kuleana now is to follow through on what we heard, together with the communities, agencies and partners who shaped this work,” Anderson said.

All six 2026-28 Destination Management Action Plans are available on HTA’s website at hta.hawaii.gov/what-we-do/plans-reports/dmaps.