What is an Authorized Concessioner?
Why is this so important and exciting?
The Commercial Services Program of the National Park Service is made up of more than 500 contracts throughout the United States. Being selected as an Authorized Concessioner means that we are able to offer services that the national park personnel cannot offer on their own, such as Sunrise Tours, of the park. As part of these contracts, the National Park Service monitors the performance and operation quality of its authorized concessioners for quality assurance. This means that you are guaranteed to have a great time! The National Park Service has been contracting out concessioners since it was established in 1916, so this is not a new concept. But, it is a new way of doing things in Haleakalā National Park. Due to the fact that Haleakalā’s sunrise is the number one activity on Maui, the number of companies offering sunrise tours increased to the point of posing a threat to Haleakalā's fragile environment. So, the National Park Service selected only four companies who to provide park tours. The four companies, including Skyline Hawaii, were selected by the Pacific West Regional Director of the National Park Service. These contracts are 10-year concession contracts to operate guided vehicle tours within the National Park. Every National Park in the United States has a limited set of Authorized Concessioners. These contracts are used to limit the necessary services within National Parks to make sure that the parks continue to be preserved and conserved– a main value of the National Park Service. The four concessioners were selected in April of 2017 and the contracts officially started their 10-year terms on January 1, 2018.
What do we do as an Authorized Concessioner?
As an Authorized Concessioner of Haleakalā National Park, Skyline Hawaii is responsible for providing memorable visitor experiences while protecting Haleakalā National Park’s valuable resources. But that is just the tip of the volcano. We have always embodied the values of doing good and having fun. We constantly strive to do our part in protecting Hawaii’s fragile environment and irreplaceable culture. We are also a member of 1% For The Planet, which is a group a businesses committed to giving at least 1% of all sales back to environmental preservation. Through these donations, we support numerous non-profit organizations in different areas throughout the Hawaiian Islands. Our "Do Good. Have Fun." motto is all about the value and practice of Kuleana. There are three parts to what we do to protect the islands we call home. The first is conservation. We are recognized as a Sustainable Tour Operator by the Hawaii Ecotourism Association because of our efforts to help people and nature thrive together, preserve the islands, and protect cultural resources. We are also a Carbonfund.org partner which means we are committed to reducing and offsetting our carbon footprint. Carbonfund sets extremely high standards for it’s partners and evaluates our efforts every year. The next component of Do Good. Have Fun. is community. We give back through community service, celebrating important milestones and environmental clean-up projects. Every year we have a month-long promotion that collects non-perishable food items for local food banks. In 2017, we donated more than 20,000 pounds of food! Last but certainly not least, we work to share and preserve Hawaiian culture. Sharing the history and stories of the islands we call home is a key focus on all of our tours. We have a Cultural Advisor on our team who shares in-depth knowledge and trains our guides.
Why do we do these things?
We participate in protecting and giving back to our community because, for us, Hawaii is our home. We love our home and want to help people make memories here. We also want people to learn about and enjoy our irreplaceable culture for many generations to come. So, we find every opportunity to preserve the Hawaiian Islands and never hesitate to give back to our community.