ASSOCIATION OF HAWAIIAN CIVIC CLUBS
A RESOLUTION
No. 2017 – 58
STRONGLY URGING THE HAWAI‘I TOURISM AUTHORITY, THE NATIVE HAWAIIAN HOSPITALITY ASSOCIATION, AND THE OFFICE OF HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS TO ESTABLISH A WORKING GROUP TO FORMULATE RECOMMENDATIONS ON NATIVE HAWAIIAN TOURISM FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND THE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR IN UPDATING THEIR MANAGEMENT PLANS ON TOURISM
WHEREAS, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives adopted S. 1679, the Native American Tourism and Improving Visitor Experience (NATIVE) Act on September 12, 2016; and
WHEREAS, the President of the United States signed S. 1679 into law; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of S. 1679 is to enhance and integrate Native American tourism, empower Native American communities, increase coordination and collaboration between Federal tourism assets, and expand heritage and cultural tourism opportunities in the United States; and
WHEREAS, S. 1679 requires the U. S. Department of Commerce, the U. S. Department of the Interior, and federal agencies with recreational travel or tourism functions to update their management plans tourism initiative to include Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian Organizations; and
WHEREAS, the plans must outline proposals to improve travel and tourism data collection and analysis; increase the usability of public information and federal websites; support national tourism goals; identify programs that could support tourism infrastructure in Native American communities; develop visitor portals and assets that showcase and respect the diversity of Native Americans; share local Native American heritage through the development of bilingual signage; and improve access to transportation programs for building capacity for Native American community tourism and trade; and
WHEREAS, the U. S. Department of Commerce and the U. S. Department of the Interior must work with a facilitator to provide technical assistance to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and Native Hawaiian Organizations regarding participation in the tourism industry and report on departmental efforts supporting such participation; and
WHEREAS, federal agencies must (1) support Indian tribes, tribal organizations and Native Hawaiian organizations in showcasing their history, culture, and continuing vitality, enhancing or maintaining their distinctive cultural feature, and providing authentic and respectful visitor experiences; (2) assisting in interpreting the connections between Native Americans and the national identity of the United States; (3) enhance efforts to promote understanding and respect for diverse cultures in the United States and the relevance of those cultures; and (4) ensure that travelers at airports and ports of entry are welcomed in a manner that both showcases and respects the diversity of Native American communities; and
WHEREAS, grants relating to travel, recreation, or tourism for which Indian tribes, tribal organizations, or Native Hawaiian Organizations are eligible may be used to (1) support their efforts to present their story and culture, (2) revitalize Native American communities using the arts and humanities, and (3) carry out this Act; and
WHEREAS, during the first six months of 2015, the U. S. Department of Commerce estimated there were over 36 million overseas travelers to the United States; and
WHEREAS, one out of 18 Americans is employed by a travel or tourism related business; and
WHEREAS, in 2014, tourism in the United States was a $221 billion industry; and
WHEREAS, the State of Hawai‘i Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) expects that visitor arrivals will reach 8.8 million in 2016, a 1.9 percent increase from 2015; and
WHEREAS, visitor spending is projected to increase by 3.2 percent to $15.6 billion; and
WHEREAS, Hawaiians and Part-Hawaiians comprise 23.2 percent of the state’s population; and
WHEREAS, the Native Hawaiian community has observed assaults on its sacred sites, examples of which include vandalism of Kaniakapūpū in June 2016, and on the Kamehameha statue in Honolulu in that same month; and
WHEREAS, the last time that DBEDT did a study on the socio-cultural impact of tourism on Native Hawaiians was in July 2004, Socio-Cultural Impacts of Tourism in Hawai‘i – Impacts on Native Hawaiians prepared by John M. Knox and Associates.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs at its 58th Annual Convention in Seattle, Washington, in the malama of ʻIkuwā and the rising of Māhealani, this 4th day of November 2017, strongly urging the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to establish a working group to formulate recommendations on Native Hawaiian tourism for consideration by the U. S. Department of Commerce and the U. S. Department of the Interior in updating their management plans on tourism; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the working group include participation by Native Hawaiian organizations such as the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs (AHCC), Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association (NaHHA), Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce (NHCC), Sovereign Councils of the Hawaiian Homelands Assembly (SCHHA), Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA), Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (NHLC), University of Hawai‘i Department of Ethnic Studies, Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association (HCRA), Hawai‘i Academy of Recording Arts (HARA), Kamehameha Schools, Kapi‘olani Community College, Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, MA‘O Farms, PA‘I Foundation, Native Hawaiian Cultural Directors of Royal Hawaiian Center, Marriott Hotels, and Hawai‘i Lodging & Tourism Association and any other Native Hawaiian organization that is interested; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Hawai‘i State Legislature appropriate funds for DBEDT to update the study Socio-Cultural Impacts of Tourism in Hawai‘i – Impacts on Native Hawaiians to inform decision making and to leverage the study to enable improvement in the tourism industry; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be transmitted to the U. S. Department of Commerce, the U. S. Department of the Interior, the State of Hawai‘i Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, and the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association, as well as the Governor of the State of Hawai‘i, President of the State Senate, Speaker of the State House of Representatives, Chair of the State Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the State House Committee on Ocean, Marine Resources, & Hawaiian Affairs, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and all County Mayors.
The undersigned hereby certifies that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted in the malama of ʻIkuwā and the rising of Māhealani on the 4th day of November 2017, at the 58th Annual Convention of the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs in Seattle, Washington.
Annelle C. Amaral, President
