With West Maui Preparing To Resume Tourism, Being Mindful and Reverent Is Key

“When events like the Maui wildfires happen that have an impact on tourism, it exposes systemic issues we’re facing as an industry and they become glaring,” Jake Haupert, co-founder of Transformational Travel Council, explained during a recent interview with TravelPulse.

“Some of those systemic issues are not related to why we travel and how we travel," Haupert adds. "It’s a reflection of a major dysfunction we have within tourism. But beyond that, there’s also the expectation and the entitlement that we have really created within the tourism industry.”

Under the best of circumstances, or in its purest form, travel should be a mutually beneficial exchange. But Haupert says there’s something of a dark cloud over what travel and tourism has become in many instances.

“We’re supposed to travel with a conscience and be mindful and reverent,” continues Haupert. Often however, individuals travel with what he describes as need-based views focused on “What can you do for me?”

“That’s dysfunctional and that leads to exploitation and extraction. That’s the dysfunctionality being exposed in this moment,” he says.

So, how do these questions relate to Maui and the return of tourists in October? They couldn’t be more important.

By MIa Taylor