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Hawai’i is a small island chain located in the midst of the Pacific Ocean. In 1959, Hawai’i became the last and 50th state to join the United States of America. However well before this official conjunction, flocks of visitors would travel to visit the beautiful sandy beaches and pleasant tropical climate.

Tourism in Hawaii has been increasing and reached an all time high in 2017. A total of 9,404,346 visitors came to the state, an increase of 5.3 percent from the previous record 2016 which also created a 3.5 percent increase in visitor spending. Tourism is the largest single contributor to the state’s gross domestic product, representing about 21 percent of its entire economy. Many of Hawaii’s largest industries revolve around the constant flow of tourists and tourism has become an integral part of the economy. Tourism has both positively and negatively affected the local culture in a variety of ways.

Economic Effect

The tropical allure of Hawai’i brings millions of visitors to its shores each year. Drawn in by the crystal blue waters, moderate climate and diverse activities, visitors come to relax and explore. This pull has had a significant impact on the economy as Hawai’i changed from a sovereign nation to declare statehood, the industries began to shift as well. Being a primarily agricultural land, producing around 80 percent of the world’s pineapples in the 1960s, the addition of Pan Am’s flight route to Hawai’i rapidly increased the number of visitors going to the islands. The years following statehood led to more than double the number of passengers arriving at Honolulu airport. As this trend continues to increase, Hawaii’s economy has become heavily dependent on this one industry. Although the economy has seen significant growth with the addition of this industry some researchers believe this will leave Hawai’i susceptible to external economic forces. Some examples of these are an economic recession, airline strikes or varying fuel prices which could devastate the local economy. The devastating national economic recession of 2008, hit Hawaii’s tourism industry hard. Expensive vacations are seen as a luxury good and thus when income decreases so does consumer spending on that good. In 2008, hotel occupancy dropped to 60 percent, a level not seen since the terrorist attacks in 2001. As the economy has returned to normal levels, the tourism industry has continued to grow in Hawai’i with the majority of tourists visiting Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the big island of Hawai’i. Job creation is another benefit of tourism to the island and in 2017, reports say 204,000 jobs were related to tourism. This led to $16.78 billion in visitor spending with $1.96 billion generated in tax revenue in that year alone. Resorts and the airline business are the primary benefactors of this increase in tourism.

Environmental Effect

Water

The state of Hawai’i has struggled with the dilemma of economic prosperity and environmental responsibility. An increase of people in the islands leads to an increase of waste and water usage by nature. Water is the most essential substance for humans and the lack of water poses one of the greatest threats to civilization. This has become a problem mainly due to the location of the large resorts. The ideal place for visitors is near the ocean with a tropical climate and light rain so the guests are happy. Developers seek to maximize profits and can achieve this by placing buildings in picturesque locations. This often leads to hotels being placed in dry, coastal areas with little rainfall causing 2000 to 10000 liters of water used per capita. This is significantly more than the average resident and has lead to a number of droughts throughout the island. On the topic of infrastructure being built, the number of hotel rooms from 1985 to 2010 nearly doubled from 35 to 132 thousand rooms. As the demand increases for hotel rooms and new buildings are constructed, the environmental effect has an even greater impact on the Hawai'ian residents. Photos of Hawai'ian coastlines over the years show the drastic change in landscape as once untouched beaches become filled with hotels and condos. This visual impairment has affected views of previously natural areas that are now filled with artificial constructs. A paradox exists within the relationship between tourism and the environment. Tourists visit destinations with developed infrastructure, groomed activities and pristine conditions which boosts the economy and finances needed to uphold these facilities. On the other hand the very creation of these institutions degrades the environmental factors tourists are drawn to. Having perfect conditions requires an amount of upkeep fueled by the revenue of the visitors but the visitors also degrade the environment at a faster rate than residents.

Landscape

A direct effect of the increase in infrastructure is the depletion of the natural landscape. As buildings are constructed the amount of natural land becomes smaller and smaller. As hotels are constructed in prime real estate the environmental problems created are not weighed equally with the potential upside of profit. The government sees the creation of jobs as a good thing as well as an increase in visitor spending in the state. Those are quantitative variables that can be directly measured in terms of dollars and number of jobs. However, the impact to the environment or the indigenous people is harder to measure in term of absolutes. Hawai’i only holds 0.2 percent of the United States land but has a 72.1 percent extinction rate and more than half of the natural communities in the islands are endangered by developments. An example of this is natural ponds being destroyed during construction of large buildings which were previously home to migrating birds. The ponds are no longer there which throws off the natural flow of the ecosystem. Another staggering statistic says that nearly 60 percent of the plant and animal species in Hawai’i are endangered. This includes the loss of habitats for animals and the diverse flora that gives Hawai’i its beauty being degraded at an alarming rate.

Pollution

The beaches in Hawaii are becoming increasingly filled with trash and mainly plastics. This becomes a problem not only environmentally but also could have a negative impact on the economy as visitors come for the sandy beaches and pollutants such as trash or plastics decrease the appeal of Hawai’i as a vacation destination.

Social Effect

Native Hawaiians as well as residents of the islands are faced with a constant ethical dilemma: benefit economically from tourism or face the potentially negative effects of an increase in population. There are two perspectives at which this issue can be viewed from: residents/ native Hawai'ians and the visitors.

Local Perspective

A group of Native Hawai’ians believe strongly in the independence of Hawai’i and the Hawaiian sovereignty movement. The creation of this grassroots organization leads to a negative view towards visitors and the disruption of the natural land. This leads to a strong contention between developers and natives who believe the land should not be transformed into a commercial or residential development. Many of these individuals are reliant on the land as a means of living. The loss of the environment affects the socio-psychological well-being of those reliant on land and marine resources. Native Hawai’ians and residents alike become limited in job opportunities with a heavily skewed job-base in the tourism industry. Continued development is very likely in Hawai’i and many locals hope to create a beneficial situation for both parties

Visitor Perspective

From the point of view of the visitor, visiting the islands and spending money increases the GDP and has a large potential upside. Part of the allure of the islands is the Hawai’ian culture and it is what draws so many people to the popular destination. For example, visitors are drawn to performances of the Hula and local musicians in an attempt to get an authentic experience. This again creates controversies such as cultural appropriation and an unregulated globalization. This globalization not only hurts residents and natives by threatening their language and culture but also affects the visitor as it diminishes the appeal of an genuine experience.

With pros and cons on each side, the debate continues over the impacts of tourism in Hawai’i. A tropical paradise potentially turning into an overly saturated economy. With no clear solution, visitors and natives alike will continue to examine the best plan for the future.

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Legacypac (talk) 17:32, 21 November 2018 (UTC)