Lānaʻi Destination Management Action Plan 2026-2028
The Lānaʻi Destination Management Action Plan (DMAP) 2026-2028 outlines a community-driven approach to stewarding the island’s natural and cultural resources while enhancing residents’ quality of life and fostering a more meaningful visitor experience. Developed with input from community members, industry partners, and the Lānaʻi Advisory Group, the plan depicts a very different picture from the rest of Hawaiʻi: an island where visitor volume remains low, community strain from tourism is limited, and residents express notably strong support for welcoming more visitors.
Stakeholders emphasized that Lānaʻi’s challenges stem less from overcrowding than from under-engagement – community engagement eschewed a hotspot designation and instead highlighted Hulopo‘e and Mānele as one corridor that could experience pressure if visitation increases without an increase in mobility options to move visitors away from the area. This “Site of Potential Future Strain” is the focus of this DMAP, in lieu of a traditional hotspot.
Lānaʻi Visitor Industry Snapshot
- $99.80 million in total visitor expenditures in 2025*, a 14.3% decrease from 2024 ($116.47 million).
- $625.25 average daily visitor spending in 2025*, an 6.1% decrease from 2024 ($665.85). However, this is still the highest average daily visitor spending in the state.
- The Spring 2025 Resident Sentiment Survey measures several indicators and provides a baseline for analyzing the effectiveness of the DMAPs on resident quality of life: In 2025, 85% of Lānaʻi residents agreed that “Tourism has brought more benefits than problems.”
- In 2025, 66% of Lānaʻi residents agreed that “Tourism is being better managed on my island,” an increase from 2024 (54%).
- The DMAP implementation and engagement process provides room for further inclusion of diverse voices: In 2025, 38% of Lānaʻi residents agreed that “I have a voice in my island’s tourism development decisions.”
- High average visitor satisfaction in 2025* across major market areas: 82.4% of visitors rated their experience on Lānaʻi as “excellent.”
- While not one of HTA’s key performance indicators, total visitor arrivals to Lānaʻi in 2025* was 43,945, a decrease of 3.3% from 2024.
*2025 data is preliminary and is expected to be finalized in Fall 2026.
Click or tap on the cover to read the DMAP.
