The Impacts of Tourism on Hawaii
Hawaii is an extremely popular travel destination, but the locals have a complicated relationship with tourism. For one thing, the Hawaiian economy is heavily dependent on tourism, and a decrease in tourism can hurt many businesses. However, tourism is also a problem, as it inflates housing prices and causes culturally significant sites to be turned into tourist spots. Tourism also causes environmental problems, as it hurts the land and the wildlife, including Hawaiian monk seals, Hawaiian yellow-faced bees, Hawaiian green sea turtles, and coral reefs.
Going to Hawaii is on the summer bucket list of many people, and it’s easy to see why. The beautiful islands contain picturesque scenery, unique flora and fauna, amazing poke, and a rich culture. However, many people forget that Hawaii is not just a tropical Disneyland made for people to saunter around for vacation, which they can treat however they want; there are actual communities of people residing there. Of course, not every tourist visiting the Hawaiian islands will be disrespectful, but with so many people coming to Hawaii every year, some will inevitably disregard etiquette, resulting in unhappy locals, ruined ecosystems, and endangered animals.
Hawaii and Tourism
I asked my cousin, Tia Lewis, a native who was born and raised in Hawaii, if the influx of tourists during summertime bothers the locals. She confirmed that it does, but, unfortunately, the Hawaiian economy heavily relies on tourism. After the Maui wildfires, tourism in Hawaii declined drastically. This caused a lot of people to lose their jobs, and many businesses suffered significant financial losses.
Big businesses and hotel owners aren’t the only ones negatively affected by the decline of tourists; many small business and shop owners rely on and prepare for the flood of tourists during the summer months. For example, Karli Rose Wilson, owner of To Be Organics, is a Hawaiian small business owner whose profits declined 25% this past year. The decline has also affected locals who work in restaurants or hotels, as many are working fewer hours or being laid off. Lewis, who works at a restaurant in a hotel, experienced this firsthand, as she worked significantly fewer shifts this summer due to the lack of tourists.
Although tourism can be financially beneficial for the locals of Hawaii, there’s a reason the summer season is so dreaded by many of the residents.
Effects on Locals
If you’re considering buying property in Hawaii, whether it’s to rent out or to build a place for you and your family to stay, it might be better to find another location. Housing prices in Hawaii have skyrocketed, with a small, one-floor house costing around $1 million. Many people try to buy and resell houses at inflated prices, making it harder for a lot of locals to find homes. For instance, Lewis reported a $4 million house being resold for $15 million. The Maui wildfires displaced thousands of families, and the rising house prices are making it even more difficult for them to find a new home. As a result, only 50% of native Hawaiians now live in Hawaii.
In addition, all of the land being bought and turned into hotels and shopping malls has forced the Hawaiians to suppress their traditional lifestyles and culture. In fact, many resorts and developments have been built on culturally significant sites, such as burial sites or temples. A prominent example is the Keoneloa development site, where 22 acres of traditional burial grounds were reduced to just one acre of property.
Many sacred parts of Hawaii have now been turned into viral tourist attractions, like the Haleakalā National Park. Beautiful landmarks tend to attract tourists; it is inevitable. However, many tourists overlook the significance of these landmarks and don’t treat the land with the respect that they should.
“So many people are going, and it’s slowly sickening the land,” Lewis states. “Sometimes people just play around on top of the mauna (a shield volcano surrounding Maui) when it’s supposed to be a sacred place.”
Environmental Impacts
The Land
With so many people flooding the beaches, many forget to pick up their own trash, ignoring the “Don’t Litter” signs put up by the frustrated locals. The āina (land) is incredibly important to Hawaiian culture and tradition, but since their land is being ripped up to create tourist spots, they have less space to practice their traditions. Growing crops and living sustainably are and have always been large parts of Hawaiian culture, but these farmlands are now being built over to accommodate tourists.
The Wildlife
Even though the unique wildlife and vibrant landscapes are some of the many things that make Hawaii beautiful, 60% of the plant and animal species in Hawaii are endangered due to the deforestation and habitat loss that come from building tourist spots.
Hawaiian monk seals used to be a common sighting while snorkeling, one of the popular tourist activities in Hawaii, but the drastic decline in their numbers over the years has made them a rarity to find. There are currently only 1,600 monk seals left, one-third of their former population from six decades ago. They are now one of the most endangered species of seals on the planet.
The Hawaiian yellow-faced bee is also listed as critically endangered, as well as the Hawaiian green sea turtle. To protect them, there are even laws preventing people from touching these animals. If you touch a Hawaiian green sea turtle or monk seal, you could be fined $100,000 and even sent to jail. Still, this doesn’t completely stop people from touching, and even harming, these animals. Since 2009, 14 monk seals have been deliberately killed, 3 of those in 2021, by being shot or bludgeoned to death. Unfortunately, deliberate killings of monk seals have become one of the top three factors in the decline of their population, along with loss of habitat and entanglement in debris.
Coral reefs are likely one of the greatest victims of tourism. While most tourists tend to stay close to the shores or on the beaches, a large number of them take a boat out to go snorkeling and scuba diving, and, in turn, have direct or indirect contact with the coral reefs. A team of scientists at Princeton University studied the effects of tourism on coral reefs and found that reefs farther from the shores — and the hoards of people — have healthier corals. Divers, either accidentally or purposely, break or shatter corals by sitting, standing, kicking, or breaking them to take home as souvenirs.
In addition, the influx of people in resorts and hotels creates an increase in pollution and litter that drifts out into the oceans and indirectly hurts the corals. The chemicals in sunscreens also negatively affect the corals, and with so many people trying to stay protected from the harsh Hawaiian UV rays, more and more chemicals are being washed out to sea. Luckily, many snorkeling boats now provide reef-safe sunscreen for people to use.
The health and safety of the coral reefs are crucial to Hawaii. Not only do they bring in profits from tourists, but they also protect the islands from intense storm waves and protect the vast marine biodiversity found in Hawaiian oceans.
How to Help
So, does that mean you shouldn’t travel to Hawaii? Not necessarily. You just need to remember that Hawaii is not just a cluster of islands for tourists to prance and play on, and that real people and animals are living on these lands. It’s not a tedious thing to be respectful and mindful when traveling to a new place.
“We just want everyone to be respectful and smart. It’s almost like tourists forget how to use their brains sometimes when they come here. They act super ignorant and rude to us. It’s just sad,” Tia Lewis said, when asked about her views on tourists. “People live here, it’s not a vacation for us. So, try to learn about the culture.”
Recap
Hawaii is an extremely popular travel destination, but the locals have a complicated relationship with tourism. For one thing, the Hawaiian economy is heavily dependent on tourism, and a decrease in tourism can hurt many businesses. However, tourism is also a problem, as it inflates housing prices and causes culturally significant sites to be turned into tourist spots. Tourism also causes environmental problems, as it hurts the land and the wildlife, including Hawaiian monk seals, Hawaiian yellow-faced bees, Hawaiian green sea turtles, and coral reefs. To solve this problem, tourists visiting Hawaii should educate themselves on Hawaiian culture and try to minimize their impacts on the environment and land.