From my (very preliminary) basic understanding, the tiki craze gets its name from the film Kon Tiki which may be familiar to cinephiles as the ur-film of Bazinian realism. (See What is Cinema)
Here’s some links to its various articulations, feel free to add to this list.
The Tiki Room: An homage to the now defunct “Tiki Room” at Disney World
Tiki Gardens
A memorial to “Trader Frank,” founder or Florida hotel Tiki Gardens.
OMG — now I understand why Trader Joe’s employees have to wear those horrible flowered shirts! Joe must have been a Tiki-er (there’s got to be a moniker for this)
