Next.....the 80's & 90's
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When Tom first got to Maui in the early seventies there was no centralized place that visitors could go to make reservations for all their activities, and there was definitely no discounting in the Hawaii activity industry. This all changed when Tom Barefoot’s Tours came onto the scene in 1975. Operating out of a kiosk that Tom built by hand, the early years of the company were spent on the corner of Front and Hotel Streets in front of the Pioneer Inn in downtown Lahaina.
It did not take long for word to spread about the large selection, low prices and honest advice that was available at Tom Barefoot’s activity kiosk. As the years went on and the business expanded Tom could see that he was going to need more room to grow.
In the 80’s Tom upgraded locations and moved from his activity kiosk to a much larger store. Here on Front Street, Tom Barefoot’s Tours grew and it was not too long before there were so many return clients calling back that he had to open a second location just to deal with all the phone calls that were coming in.
During this period Tom Barefoot’s Tours hired many employees that are still working with him to this day. As the eighties passed by Tom’s company grew, and so did his family.
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In 1996 Tom Barefoot’s Tours founded tombarefoot.com with a single webpage. Since then their web presence has grown to well over 15,000 pages. Initially, Tom wanted to make an “online brochure” for each activity that he offered. Within a few years that vision became a reality, and it hasn't stopped growing since.
In 2007 Jake Barefoot graduated college at Southern Oregon University and returned to Maui to work with his Dad. Although Jake’s degree was in Business Management he brought
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