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if I lived in Hawi & owned a cute little curio shop I'd smile w/ glee when the tourist stop & give me their cash (not frown). Seems like tourism is a major scource of income on the Island. Why would the residents resent that? Alternately board up all of the windows & put up allot of keep out signs
You must never have lived in a small village overrun by tourists. [
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Of course the shop owners want the business, but they're a teeny tiny percentage of the local residents.
Also, knowing an artist who had one of those shops, the complaint is that tourists don't buy art; they buy little things ... she did better reselling stuff from Pier 1 than on art. The people who buy art are the people who own those beautiful homes. Hawi is more art galleries than souvenirs.
Why do the residents get disgusted? Because Hawi is a tiny town with very little parking and it means residents can't enjoy their own town. I'm not saying they're unfriendly, they aren't. But privately people who aren't retailers will shake their heads and say "I was going to stop at ______ but it was crawling with tourists."
Having lived in Mendocino when it was as run down as Pahoa used to be, and having seen the transition, until it drove me away, I'm pretty familiar with how a barrage of tourists sucks the soul out of little villages like that. Sorry, it just does.
It's your home, you know, and there are all these people who don't even know where they are ... tourism is helpful and encouraged, but not enjoyed, even the shop owners get burnout.
Theodore, I'm sure you're not that kind of tourist. No one from Punaweb would be.
