Maui residents slam tourists for vacationing on the island as locals struggle with the aftermath of wildfires

15.08.2023 - 17:23 / insider.com / Jason Momoa

While locals in Maui, Hawaii, struggle to reckon with record-setting wildfires that burned homes, livelihoods, and entire neighborhoods to the ground, some say recovery is being made more painful by tourists visiting the island on vacation.

Last week, residents of Lahaina, a historic town once home to about 12,000 people, were forced to jump into the ocean to escape wildfires fueled by winds from Hurricane Dora sweeping across Maui. The flames leveled most of the town and killed nearly 100 people, officials said, according to CNN. Thousands are still reported as missing. 

Though travelers have been warned by local officials — and even Hawaiian actor Jason Momoa — to cancel non-essential travel plans to Maui, footage being shared across social media appears to show tourists holidaying on the island.

TikToker @kayafromhawaii re-shared footage of travelers in Hawaii on her account over the weekend. In the clip, which has received over 263,000 views, she said: "Just imagine, almost 100 people dead and counting. Thousands of locals and Hawaiians lost absolutely everything and 1,000 more still missing. Legal authorities not letting the locals and Hawaiians come back through with supplies and things people need because it's dangerous. But then, you see this."

The video shows an Instagram reel shared by another user of what appears to be tourists snorkeling around a tour boat on August 11. 

Maui Snorkeling, a tour company, later issued an apology on its website after the video began circulating on social media. While it has not been confirmed if Maui Snorkeling owns the boat in the clip and the company did not respond to a request for comment, it apologized for running a tour, which it said took place "no closer than 11 miles away" from Lahaina on the morning of August 11. It also said the expedition was hosted to raise funds for the Maui Food Bank.

"We do not want to add to the suffering of those who have already lost so much. Therefore, we will suspend operations for the time being," the statement shared by Maui Snorkeling added. 

The TikTok user @kayafromhawaii also said later in the video that tourists were using roads that people bringing supplies needed access to, echoing sentiments shared by Maui local Courtney Keakahulilani on the Hawaii News Report Instagram page.

A post shared by Hawaii News Report (@hawaiinewsreport)

"It was disgusting to see tourists trying to come into Lahaina, trying to get into our convoy to bypass traffic," Keakahulilani said in the video, which has over 22,000 likes, shared on Sunday. "You're going to let tourists come into Lahaina and enjoy our beaches when you still have bodies floating in the water?" 

"Tourists," she added. "What in your mind and in your heart that makes