KAUAI - Locales & Residents Vs. TOURISTS and how to keep this PEACE When Visiting!

hey guys welcome back to my channel it's your host Jay here in this video I want to go over some things I've learned over the years by living on island and also from traveling many of you who have also even reached out to me personally may have heard or read somewhere how people who live on island feel as though there is over tourism and very frustrated with tourists and like I said from speaking with people personally and from traveling I've started to understand where some of that frustration is coming from so all the places we've traveled to there are high seasons and low Seasons every single place I speak with locals I actually wanted to be a talk show host when I was little because I love chatting with people and understanding people's stories but anyway so I speak with locals in those places that we travel to and they always say they kind of gear up for their High season essentially two three months out of the year and then relax and enjoy the towns and cities during the rest of the year even here in Portugal in the South there are many places that are only open for the summer months and close the rest of the year they make enough money to be open those three months until the rest of the time but when you compare that to Kauai there is no low season ever there is High season and then really high season my rentals are always at 90 occupancy or more year round and when we travel we are constantly seeing tourists do things they shouldn't be doing this even includes us these things we see could be on purpose or pure ignorance and obviously every place has their culture and set of rules and you as a tourists may or may not know them for example I'll call out myself I try to learn as much as I can about a place before visiting like Japan so in Japan it's seen as a compliment to the chef to slurp your noodles and my kids had a field day during this when we were there and it's frowned upon to walk around while eating which in America we typically do they don't point in Japan they use the hands like this Etc and so we did all those things to try and fit into the culture and be as respectful as possible but the thing that made us stand out while we were there was when we would ride the trains the trains are very quiet and I mean very quiet and our kids were not very quiet and very excited I mean they're kids and they would get excited when they've seen new things out the window and it's not like they were loud per se but they'd be like wow look Mommy you'd think that we were like the worst people though it felt like everyone was giving us the death stare and I tried my best to keep them as quiet as possible but it was hard and we probably looked like these rude loud tourists so I'm explaining all this because since Kauai doesn't have a low season there are tons of people all the time on Island visiting and that number actually does keep growing every year this leads to tourists every single day doing things knowingly or unknowingly that upset people living an island the local people don't have a single solitary day where they have the beaches all to themselves they did have a glimpse of this during the pandemic and I'll definitely admit it was nice not gonna lie but that that was overall short-lived and whether people liked it or not the island does need tourism but there seems to be this imbalance in people's eyes there is traffic all the time and long lines in a lot of places and I think dealing with this day after day it starts to get to people local people and residents are actually very kind though even though you may hear differently when it comes to tourist interactions on social media or in the news I've had many conversations with them and I love talking story with them as I mentioned earlier in the video and if you aren't new to my Channel or know me personally you know I talk a lot so I ask a lot of questions and I get stuck in places for hours because I just love learning about people and hearing about their lives and the people are honestly very very kind so while there are no rules or limits set on how many people can visit the island here are some tips when you are visiting to try and keep the peace don't feel entitled one of the most common things I hear from locals and residents alike are the words entitlement and entitled so the entitlement mindset is saying oh I've paid a lot of money to be here so I could do what I want Park how I want go where I want my own rules and coming off like that anywhere in the world will get you in trouble but because coins faced this almost daily they are more likely to let you know what they think of that kind of attitude don't speed people live at a much slower Pace on island than that of the majority of the world and especially the mainland I've mentioned this in another video that I even myself had a hard time adjusting to this but car rentals stick out like a sore thumb and there are some that do not abide by the speeding limits at all and locals and residents get frustrated by this so just take it easy you'll get to where you need to get but just at a more relaxed pace don't touch the wildlife guys animals are sacred and protected do not touch the turtles or get close to the albatross or touch a seal they are super cute I know but you can get a hefty fine if you miss with almost any Wildlife on the island I honestly think though some people I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt don't know this when they visit as there wasn't much information provided to tourists when visiting but Airlines and hotels are finally providing this info to visitors but being informed or not I've seen with my own eyes tourists going past the little barrier people put around the seal when it comes up on the shore and tourists just walk right past it to get close and try and take pictures and that even drives me crazy I've called out people nicely and have said hey maybe you didn't see the sign which I know they did because you can see it from all sides but I try to be relaxed and I say well maybe you didn't you know see it but this cute little guy or girl is protected and that's why they have this around them so you know I should try and step back and just be careful and stand outside of the box but while I'm kind and relaxed and saying that I may not be the person catching you and that person's delivery may not be as calm don't step on the reef so this is similar to The Wildlife but the coral reef is a living creature and not just a rock as some people believe it can die if you stand or step on them and the reef is so beautiful so just keep that in mind when you're snorkeling or swimming be patient and this is kind of redundant but again the island operates at a slower pace and some tourists get frustrated also the island has been going through a long period of time being short staffed in a lot of places and tourists get aggravated waiting or being in long lines and locals and residents get it as we have to wait a lot of times too but you gotta just chill and relax and like don't get all crazy think how everyday people who live there are feeling like I said these things happen daily in our year round for the people who live on island don't leave trash behind this is a huge one for me I don't even want to get all crazy on this one but again I don't know if it's intentional or not but I see trash frequently on hiking trails and sometimes even on the beach just take extra care and notice and make sure you take your trash out with you don't go geotagging places so while I love making videos about the different places I've been unless it's truly a public place like a popular Beach or hiking trail I never ever tag places that we stumble upon if you are adventurous Travelers like we are and go off the beaten path and find a magical place that you're all alone enjoying keep it quiet keep it sacred and to yourself we stumbled Upon a Cool Secret little place [Music] I get messages constantly and I mean constantly asking me about hidden gems in Kauai and I don't give them up I know it upsets people but I want locals to enjoy in peace and quiet the handful of secret places they have left and you should too don't go to Queen's Bath if it's closed this one really gets locals and residents upset I know it's on almost everyone's list to visit this area but there's a gate and it is closed a lot of the year because it's dangerous to visit especially in the winter months but people go around anyway and there are injuries and rescues all the time because people don't respect the signs there and what tourists may not realize is that these rescues lead to kauai's lifeguards and rescue teams putting their lives on the line rescues can be very dangerous and costly and they are constantly going out to rescue people so be respectful and explore the rest of the island there are still tons of other things to see and do so this one might sound crazy but people do it often enough for me to mention it and it's tourists who will stop traffic for photos this drives me crazy on a personal level I know Kauai is beautiful it's absolutely breathtaking but stopping in the middle of the road for a photo and causing traffic and then like smiling and telling people behind you to hold on while you take your photo it's just plain rude and I get it I know that this sometimes it's just like this beautiful rainbow or whatever but you know what not everyone is on vacation and some people are on their way to get to work or have to go pick up their kids at school just pull over park somewhere nearby and walk stopping traffic like that is never okay ever and you might be telling the wrong person to hold on while you take your picture so I would definitely think twice about that next time you're thinking of stopping traffic to sum this all up everything in this video be kind respectful and patient with the people that live on island and with the island itself just remember what I said in the beginning of this video that Kauai is on all the time and locals and residents never really have that down time if you are kind and respectful to both the people and the land you'll get it back to I think that's actually a universal thing really but sometimes we can use the reminder I'm gonna end this here guys as always thank you so much for watching you know I appreciate you guys tuning into my videos and if you like this video go ahead and click that like button and if you want to see more videos mine or talk about hosting and traveling and quiet and investing and finance and health and all things going on in my life go ahead and click that subscribe button I'll see you next time

Channel: Your Host J

Views: 4,136

Keywords: HAWAII, KAUAI, PARADISE, TRAVEL, LIVING, MOVING, PROS, CONS, QUALITY, LIFE, HAPPINESS, BEACH, SUNSHINE, WEATHER, PLEASURE, FOOD, FRUIT, FISH, ISLAND, GREEN, NATURE, BEAUTY, HEALTHY, ACTIVE, FREE, ISLAND TIME, LOVE, PEACE, GRATEFUL, HEALTH, SCHOOL, KILAUEA, PRINCEVILLE, HANALEI, HAENA, LIVE, RENT, BUY, REAL ESTATE, APARTMENT, CONDO, INVEST, NORTH, SHORE, EAST, PRETEST, VACCINE, PASSPORT, REOPEN, APPROVED, APPROVAL, EASE, RESTRICTION, RESTRICTIONS, VISITING, REMODEL, KITCHEN, DIY, LOST, FOUND, HELP, GOPRO, RETURN, OWNER, Gather, credit, union, loan, card, fast

Id: bOz9ebHiDtg

Length: 11min 52sec (712 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 26 2023