Over the last couple of years, Waikiki has seen record numbers of tourists staying in their hotels and frequenting their businesses. However, the neighborhood has also seen an increased number of chronically homeless campers, aggressive panhandlers and people who are using sidewalks and parks as toilets, and the hotel and tourism industry are not happy about this at all. The Waikiki Neighborhood Board, the Waikiki Improvement Association, the Hawaii Hotel and Lodging Association, the Oahu Visitors Bureau and the Hawaii Hotel & Visitor Industry Security Association, have joined forces with Waikiki residents and are demanding that state and city leaders enforce existing laws as well as consider creating new ones to prevent the problem from escalating further.
Real estate analysis Stephany Sofos commented, "We're just fed up with how this homeless issue has degraded our neighborhood. It's causing parts of our economy to fracture. Visitors don't want to come; people who live here want to move; and if investors start to realize that our community is decaying, they'll take their dollars out and put them in places that are thriving. It happened in Detroit and Sacramento and it will happen here. It's Economics 101."
Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 5-19-2014, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Principal Broker, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
www.myhawaiicondo.com
www.myhawaiidreamhome.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Principal Broker, REALTOR®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
www.myhawaiicondo.com
www.myhawaiidreamhome.com
