Q&A with visitor industry expert Kalani Ka‘āna‘anā

The Island Way

Ushering in a new model of travel in Hawai‘i, Kalani Ka‘anā‘anā hopes to establish enriching experiences for visitors, while supporting Hawaiian culture, local communities and the Islands’ natural resources.

BY GRACE MAEDA

photo: aaron k. yoshino A S HAWAI‘I ONCE AGAIN WELCOMES TRAVEL, it does so with new avenues for visitors to partake in “trips that give back.” At the helm of establishing this regenerative tourism model is Kalani Ka‘anā‘anā, Hawai‘i Tourism Authority’s chief brand officer. Born and raised on O‘ahu, Ka‘anā‘anā assumed the newly created position last summer and sees regenerative tourism as the Island way—leaving a place better than when you found it. portance of Hawaiian language to a visitor, it’s their opportunity to connect with us and see what’s important through our lens. That’s the intention with Mālama Hawai‘i. It was this idea of introducing and educating visitors to this Hawaiian cultural value of mālama and what it means to care for someone. And if you’re being respectful while trying Hawaiian language, I think people will support you in that. We have a Hawaiian language page (gohawaii.com/hawaiian-culture/hawaiian-language-guide) that can help visitors familiarize themselves with words before or during their trip.

A part of HTA’s long-term strategy, which runs through 2025, is to provide visitors with genuine Hawaiian cultural experiences. How do you see HTA accomplishing that? How do you envision “voluntourism” growing in Hawai‘i? Why should visitors seek out volunteer opportunities?

In my role, I have an opportunity to bring the four pillars of the strategic plan together (natural resources, Hawaiian culture, community and brand marketing). When I think about the health of our home, it’s really predicated on those four pillars. By creating my role and with the new direction of the strategic plan, it aligns us in a place where we’re making investments in our natural resources through community-based nonprofit partners who are doing the groundwork. We’re inviting visitors to partake in that work, so we say, “Take a trip that gives back,” because we truly believe visitors can have these enriching and authentic experiences as they explore in a responsible way.

The cultural pillar also places more emphasis on the Hawaiian language. Being fluent in ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i (Hawaiian language) yourself, how can learning about it help visitors develop a stronger understanding of the Islands’ culture?

The whole essence of our worldview is captured in our language. There’s a correlation between the number of words that a culture has for something and how it denotes its importance to that culture. When you look at Hawaiian language, there are wind names, rain names and kalo (taro) varieties; all these things had hundreds of names. When I think of the imWhen I think about regenerative tourism, it goes back to an island way of thinking

“We truly as island people. For us, it’s a return to those sustainable ways. When you grow up lobelieve visitors cal style, you leave a place better than when you found can have these it. We encourage visitors to be a part of it and say, “Hey, enriching and if I love this place and I see some rubbish on the ground, I’m going to pick it up and authentic throw it away because it’s the right thing to do.” Regenerexperiences as ative tourism in its simplest form is that. they explore in Will a visitor’s experience a responsible today differ from what it was 10 years ago? way.” Visitors will find that the experiences they have are much more connected to a sense of place. The kind of experiences our industry partners have been working on are much better rooted in culture. So, you’ll see many more lei making and weaving classes. Another way trips have changed is quite frankly due to the pandemic. We can’t ignore the fact that the pandemic has changed travel in immense ways. Mālama Hawai‘i can also be interpersonal. There are myriad ways to take care of one another—people to people—and that has changed because of the pandemic. P For more information on how to participate in a volunteer program, visit gohawaii.com/malama.