Sub-Actions Underway to Fulfill Molokaʻi Destination Management Action Plan

Fourteen “sub-actions” are underway to fulfill the Moloka‘i Destination Management Action Plan approved in December 2020 that aims to rebuild, redefine and reset the direction of tourism over a three-year period, according to an update by the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority.

The action plan calls for 23 sub-actions to be completed in Phase 1 during 2021, of 60% are in progress as of July 30, 2021.

Highlights of the Moloka‘i Sub-Actions In Progress: 

• Working with the Department of Transportation-Airports to set up the Aloha Ambassador Volunteer Program at Moloka‘i Airport.

• The County of Maui implemented a program with federal CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act) funds and issued grants to support local businesses. Through the County’s Kuha‘o Business Center, capacity-building webinars were conducted virtually in the first two quarters of 2021.

• The County is researching the US government’s Essential Air Service program enacted to guarantee that small communities have access to airline service that would otherwise have no scheduled service at all.

• Maui Visitors and Convention Bureau is setting up a Molokaʻi Advisory Group.

The Moloka‘i Destination Management Action Plan was was approved by Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority’s board of directors in December 2020 and released to the public and published on HTA’s website on March 4, 2021. It is part of the Maui Nui Destination Management Action Plan.

The County of Maui’s Office of Economic Development, Office of the Mayor’s Community Liaison for tourism and natural resources, and the Maui Visitors and Convention Bureau have participated in moving the Moloka‘i DMAP actions forward. Other state, county and federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and the visitor industry also have been integral to advancing the DMAP efforts.

To view the full Moloka‘i Destination Management Action Plan Summer 2021 Progress Report, click here.