Sophisticated travelers who frequently visit Hawaii have long known that the real action in Oahu is not in Waikiki or Honolulu but rather to the west, in the Ko Olina area. Decades in the making, Ko Olina is generally considered Hawaii's most luxurious resort destination. In fact, it was formerly known as the playground of Hawaiian royalty.



Recent developments in Summer of 2008 are going to make this area even more appealing for travel enthusiasts. Oahu vacationers may be interested in some of the new tourism related trends that are mentioned in this article.

Despite the economic problems touching most of the mainland, the Ko Olina Oahu area is seeing a healthy upswing in new activity. For instance, the State of Hawaii has announced an agreement to bring Oahu's largest shopping center west of the famed Pearl Ridge community. The junction between Ewa and Kapolei is where the new shopping development will be located.

The shopping center is known an Ka Mahana Ali'i and it will feature about 1.5 million square feet of commercial space. Also, the plans will allow up to 300 more hotel rooms and up to one hundred thousand feet of office space.

Located on the Kapolei Parkway and the planned North-South access road, tourists will appreciate the close proximity. Moreover, the extra jobs in the area will be a boon to the Island's economy generally. Some tourist officials believe the new center will help bring several thousand jobs for Hawaii.

Also, several smaller shopping centers are also planned for the community including the Laulani Village in Ewa and Kapolei Commons in West Kapolei. Ko Olina visitors already benefit from the good proximity of quite a few well known retail establishments.

Home to an extensive selection of upscale condos, the larger area will be benefited by the new shopping facilities. For instance, the brand new Ko Olina Beach Villas front the ocean and beach lagoons. Other resort properties include the Mariott Ihilani and the Marriott Timeshare complexes, both of which are beach front properties.

These properties enjoy a temperate year round climate as well as a range of amenities such as championship golf, spas, and lap-pool type lagoons. The tranquil lagoons make the destination particularly appealing to families with small children. The adults typically wade into the rough of the open ocean while the kids remain in the safer lagoon waters.

Also benefiting from the shopping expansion will be the Ko Olina Beach Villas property mentioned earlier. Residents will likely prefer to shop at Ka Makana rather than driving all the way back to Waikiki.