WAIKOLOA, Hawaii >> The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement already has gotten a firm foothold in tourism products, especially in Waikiki, since securing a multiyear, $27 million contract for stewardship services in 2023 from the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority. CNHA CEO Kuhio Lewis told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that he now has set his sights on bringing services and economic development to Hawaii island — a decision that was reflected in CNHA’s choice of the island for its 2024 Native Hawaiian Convention, “Experience Hawai‘i Island,” which ran from Tuesday through Thursday. “If you want to change the trajectory for the future, I think Hawaii island can actually create solutions that are not as easy to implement on Oahu and Maui,” he said.
“The land prices are stable and the politics aren’t as bad. There are lots of economic growth opportunities, and we are focusing in on Hilo.” Evidently, others see Lewis’ point.
Some 2,087 attendees came to the conference at Hilton Waikoloa Village Resort, which sold out all of its hotel rooms early along along with other nearby hotels. CNHA’s recent acquisition of some 43 acres of land in Hilo for an undisclosed price generated plenty of conference buzz. Lewis said CNHA could break ground as early as 2025 on its first ground-up affordable housing development, which could provide 88 affordable single-family homes in the Kaumana subdivision of Ponahawai.
“We’ll be creative with how we do it. It won’t be ex.