NAWILIWILI, Kaua'i — Cruise ship visitors to Kaua'i this year won't get the greeting they may be used to.

After decades of meeting cruise ship tourists, Hawai'i officials banned greeters who work for private tour companies or even free shuttles from harbor property effective Jan. 1.

"What they're taking away is the aloha spirit," said Ephraim Kaleiohi, owner of Aloha Discovery Island Tours.

The state Department of Transportation said it changed its greeter policy due to increased traffic congestion at Nawiliwili Harbor.

But Paulette Rosa, a greeter for the free shuttle to Hilo Hattie, said greeters help alleviate traffic by directing travelers toward where they want to be. She blamed congestion on security personnel who weren't doing their jobs properly.

"There's no leadership down there," Rosa said.

No business should be conducted inside harbor fences until a set of administrative rules is put in place, said Mike Formby, deputy director for the state Department of Transportation.

He said he doesn't want greeters inside the harbor, "yelling and shouting," to be viewed as solicitors or "hawks."

"You've already got the driver of the bus," Formby said. "Why do you need another person whose purpose is to hold the sign and encourage you to go to that store and buy goods?"

Tour operators who have prearranged customers will still be allowed to pick them up at the ship.

"Hustling people ... has been a no-no from the word go," said Bob Crowell, harbors district manager for Kaua'i.

Rules governing acceptable solicitation at the harbor are already being crafted, and they could be completed by the end of this year, Formby said.

"The model that we're going after is the airport model. The airport has been down this road, so we're trying to take advantage of what's been done, what successes we have had and what mistakes have been made, and not start at square one," he said.

Between 1,900 and 2,500 visitors arrive on Kaua'i by boat each day, and the greeters fight for their tourism dollars the moment they reach land.

But they may face an inherent disadvantage because operators such as Polynesian Adventure Tours, a Norwegian Cruise Line subsidiary, has access to the tourists long before smaller independent companies.

"How can you not have greeting in Hawai'i?" Kaleiohi asked. "It's like taking food out of my mouth."