HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Many of Hawaii’s top attractions and the surrounding communities are feeling suffocated by too many visitors.

But leaders are hoping to learn from a state park on Kauai that has implemented a successful model in managing overtourism.

The North Shore Shuttle launched in June 2019, and it plays an important role in managing visitor and vehicle numbers on Kauai’s North Shore.

The route starts at the Waipa park and ride, and goes to Haena State Park — about a 30 minute drive, with shuttles running every 20 minutes.

“Today we’re doing over 500 a day in the shuttles and its reduced the congestion on the roads by storing all these cars here,” said Joel Guy, executive director of the Hanalei Initiative.

This, along with a reservation system, a daily cap on the number of visitors, and steeper fines for illegal parking have all helped the area heal from decades of overuse and overcrowding.

It’s a topic that’s going to be discussed at the upcoming Hawaii Tourism Conference at the Hawaii Convention Center where best practices and lessons learned will be shared.

“Before the management system, there was over 80 to 100 rescues every year via helicopter flying people out of this area because it was just out of control, and since management, the number has gone down to zero,” said Guy.

“We’ve had zero air rescues out of the Hanakapiai area.”

“I think that decades-long planning process set them up for success when the time was most urgent,” said Kalani Kaanaana of the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

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