DBEDT is the Department of Business, Economic, Development & Tourism in Hawaii and also responsible for the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA). Mike McCartney was head of HTA from 2009-2014 and was promoted to serve as the Governor’s Chief of Staff in 2014. As is par for the course for decades in the State of Hawaii, many leading positions are shifted around among the same individuals. Now McCartney will be in charge... Read More

Hawaiian Airlines Hawaiian Airlines today announced that it welcomed a record 11,840,178 guests in 2018, a 2.9 percent increase over the previous year. The record number of passengers in 2018 marks 14 straight years of growth as Hawaiian continues to expand its network and fleet, providing travelers with more options to fly to, from, and within the Hawaiian Islands than any other carrier. Announcing its system-wide traffic statistics for the month,... Read More

Hawaii Island, also known as the Big Island of Hawaii welcomes a new tourism hotspot in the making. It’a new black sand beach located at Isaac Kepoʻokalani Hale Beach Park. The beach was created after the Kilauea Volcano erupted in May last year . eTN Chatroom: Discuss with readers from around the world: Hot molten lava interacting with cold ocean water produces explosions. Part of that is wave action breaking up the new... Read More

High bacteria levels in ocean water have caused the closing of three Hawaii tourist beaches in the Aloha State. In Waikiki, Queens Surf beach as well as the Ewa side of Ala Moana Beach Park have signs posted warning swimmers of the high bacteria levels. eTN Chatroom: Discuss with readers from around the world: Both beaches recorded levels around 10 times beyond the threshold for enterococci, commonly found in the digestive... Read More