Maui Invasive Fish Diving Tournament

It's nice to see invasive species removal ideas getting creative! A dive tournament is going to be held at West Maui's Hard Rock Café in Lahaina on August 15. It's called the "Roi Roundup."

The "Roi Roundup" targets a few introduced species which are damaging to Maui's reef ecosystem. These species include roi (peacock grouper), to'au (blacktail snapper) and ta'ape (blue-line snapper). The tournament really focuses on the invasive roi, which are especially problematic due to their carnivorous diet. It's estimated that one roi can eat 146 fish/year. Also, the roi is known to be a high risk fish for carrying the ciguatera toxin, which causes serious illness in certain people.

The tournament will consist of free divers and spear-fishers in two-person teams. Minors can even participate, but they have to be partnered with an adult or have written consent from a guardian of course.

Winners will receive trophies for their efforts. There are three categories: Most Fish, Largest Fish and Smallest Fish. If you want to participate in the tournament, you have to register by August 6th at www.mauicounty.gov/roiroundup or you can pick up a registration form at Maui Sporting Goods in Wailuku, Hard Rock Café in Lahaina or the Maui Brewing Company in Kahana.

If you would like to drop by the event, there will be education stations, a Barnes & Noble book fair and free entertainment by Leokane Pryor and Isaac Lazo.

For clever events like these, that help keep Maui an incredible place, the people involved definitely involve recognition. On that note, the sponsors are the Office of Mayor Charmaine Tavares, Maui Sporting Goods, Hard Rock Café, local fisherman Darrel Tanaka, Tri-Isle RC&D, Maui Brewing Company and numerous local businesses.

As for Maui real estate, have a look while listings are affordable. Explore the excellent selection of Maui oceanfront land for sale and Lahaina homes on the market now. And don't forget about our online Maui MLS search tool. As always, you can find my contact information at the bottom of the page if you need any assistance. Mahalo for reading this week!

Spacious Kaanapali Hillside Condo at The Masters

Here is a really great condo for sale in Kaanapali with amazing views of the sparkling blue ocean, luminous sunsets and the neighboring islands. This two bed, two bath includes 1,544 square feet of living space and it's a ground floor corner unit. Located right above the 9th fairway of the signature hole of the Kaanapali North Golf Course, this listing is a treasure, especially because of both the ocean and golf course views.

The interior of this wonderfully private condo is spacious and breezy, featuring tasteful upgrades, including kitchen appliances and sink, air conditioning, halogen lighting, plantation shutters, tasteful furnishings, rain shower heads, custom etched glass window, and classic décor. The gorgeous outside includes a partially enclosed lanai with sunshades, a gas grill and an entertaining area.

Although the photos of this beautiful Kaanapali condo really help to illustrate its charms, you should really see it in person to get the full scope of why it's such a great buy. It is located at The Masters at Kaanapali Hillside, which is quiet, private, tranquil and prestigious. Prized for its stunning ocean views, this low density gated community that offers immaculate care and maintenance.

Kaanapali makes an exquisite home base from which you can enjoy the many charms of Maui, including pristine white-sand beaches, world-renowned golf courses, and countless fine restaurants, shops, art galleries and natural wonders. For its own contribution to your enjoyment of the island, The Masters at Kaanapali Hillside is set on nearly forty acres of lush tropical landscaping with two pools, two jacuzzis and four tennis courts.

Care to browse through more West Maui real estate? There are beautiful Maui oceanfront land sale listings that you may be interested in exploring. Homes for sale in Kapalua include some excellent buys, and don't forget to use our online real estate search tool to find real estate meeting your specific criteria. If you need assistance, you'll find my contact information at the bottom of the page. Mahalo for reading this week!

Business Travel Revitalizing Maui Tourism

A boost to Hawaii tourism seems to be brewing, but it's not retirees and honeymooners we will be expecting. Apparently, corporate meetings and incentive-related (CMI) travel should increase thanks to the rigorous efforts of Hawaii's tourism marketers. Business groups are now being hotly pursued as a visitors market.

It seems that hotel and meeting planners have already observed an increase in CMI and business related travel for events like conventions, corporate meetings and incentives. The Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) corroborates the fact that this market really is increasing.

Economically speaking, although many businesses are choosing Hawaii simply because it's a pleasant spot to meet, you can be sure that further interest will be generated by these visits. In such an affordable real estate market, conditions are ideal for the opportunistic and shrewd buyer.

For the tourism industry at least, the HTA is expecting a nice foundation for revenue in the future at a slow but steady pace. There has been an impactful struggle in Hawaii in tourism over the past few years. It will be very nice to see the renewal of this crucial facet of the industry. Countless businesses in Hawaii depend on tourism from various key sources. A change that would seem subtle anywhere else makes a big splash in an isolated state like ours. The benefit of revitalized CMI travel will have a very obvious impact on the welfare of Hawaii businesses. Leisure traveling fluctuates a lot, so Hawaii's $12 billion visitor industry has been somewhat dependent on business travel to balance things out.

Looking for Maui real estate? There are beautiful Maui oceanfront land sale listings that you may be interested in exploring. Homes for sale in Kapalua include some excellent buys, and don't forget to use our online real estate search tool to find real estate meeting your specific criteria. If you need assistance, you'll find my contact information at the bottom of the page. Mahalo for reading this week!

Beautiful and Spacious Kaanapali Home for Sale

Perched in the prestigious Kaanapali Hillside community with its stunning West Maui views of flaming sunsets and sparkling blue ocean is a gorgeous four bedroom, three bathroom home.

From this incredible Kaanapali property, you can see the neighboring islands of Molokai and Lanai when you're facing the breathtaking pacific, and in the opposite direction you'll find the towering and majestic West Maui Mountains in all their green, sculpted elegance.

This exquisite home features Mahogany and Ohia woods along with other building materials which are unparalleled in quality. The wrap around balcony is ideal for enjoying those incredible views, and there is a beautiful pool and spa area below.

Between the gorgeous views, the balmy temperatures of Kaanapali and the wonderful wrap around balcony and pool area, you'll experience Maui outdoor living at its finest.

This property has been extremely well maintained, which is appropriate for its great value. There is an elevator from the garage, to add to the functionality of this marvelous home.

This is a four bedroom, three and a half bath with 3,096 square feet of living area on 11,829 square feet of outdoor area. The listing price is $1,789,000. I strongly recommend that you browse through the photos of this Kaanapali home.

Maui Home Sales specializes in oceanfront condo sales. Right now, homes for sale in Kaanapali include some excellent buys, and don't forget to use our online real estate search tool to find real estate meeting your specific criteria.

If you have any questions, please use my contact information at the bottom of the page. Mahalo for reading this week!

More Visitor Arrivals and More Spending on Maui

According to the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), we're still seeing greater visitor numbers and those visitors are still spending more. We had a long period there where visitor arrivals was growing but visitor spending was not, and this put a financial strain on a lot of Maui businesses. The recent increase in both arrivals and spending has brought some much appreciated income with much appreciated consistency to the island. 

In the month of May, about $860 million was spent, which is 17.4 percent more than was spent in May of last year. According to the HTA, the difference is the result of higher average daily spending which jumped from $160 per person to $176 per person year-over-year. The change was also the result of more arrivals by air.

The biggest improvement was made by Hawaii's largest market, the U.S. West, which spent 17.3 percent more than last year with $318.8 million in May. But it was Japan who's visitor spending jumped the highest, with a 31.8 percent increase year-over-year for a total of $154 million. Not all markets showed an improvement however. The U.S. East spent a total of $220.4 million which was actually a 3.5 percent decline from last year.

As for how significant air arrival increases were in May, we had 6.5 percent more which came out to 400,579 additional visitors.

It should come as no surprise that Maui saw the highest increase in visitor arrivals, with a 9.8 percent increase to 160,121 in May. According to the HTA, Maui has been the only Hawaiian island to enjoy continuous growth in visitor arrivals since the year began. That's probably just because Maui no ka oi (meaning Maui is the best). Another triumph for Maui is that we also saw a 45.6 percent increase in visitor spending in May as opposed to last year, for a total of $227.7 million, which is obviously an enormous gain.

As for Maui real estate, have a look while listings are affordable. Explore the excellent selection of Maui oceanfront land for sale and Lahaina homes on the market now. And don't forget about our online Maui MLS search tool. As always, you can find my contact information at the bottom of the page if you need any assistance. Mahalo for reading this week!