The data is in, the causes are clear and now even Hawaii officials are rapidly growing concerned.
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193 thoughts on “Concerning Hawaii Tourism Decline | Ten Reasons It Happened”
The data is in, the causes are clear and now even Hawaii officials are rapidly growing concerned.
We have been visiting for the past 43 years almost once yearly. The airports present the initial for experience for arriving visitors. They are simply dirty, old fashioned and unwelcoming. Fully functions toilette facilities would be a good start. How about some new fresh artwork and Island photographs?
Maybe it should read: Hawaii is getting more of what they deserve! Shhh! Don’t broadcast it too much as its only a light rumor at this time, but what would happen if the U.S. Military decided to move some of their facilities off the islands to other locations?
We and a lot of our friends vacation in Hawaii. But, most if not all of us are retired and on fixed incomes. These don’t rise at anywhere near the same rate as inflation. As Hawaii becomes more expensive it will simply price itself out of our ability to pay and still meet obligations at home (like taxes that keep rising, too). As I spend more money for accommodations, car, and food that sim ply leaves less to use elsewhere.
My family has been coming to Hawaii since 1983 and annually since 1993 however, with the steep increase in hotels, car rentals and lack of short term vacation rentals in “private” accommodations, the proposed “tourist tax” and a general feel of “tourists go away”, this year (2024) will be our last year. Costa Rica and Belize, here we come.
We got back a week ago from our 30th visit to Hawaii. We’ve made reservations for next year (4 weeks). The roads on Kauai are bad, and the speed limit signs on the north end of the island leave me scratching my head (I’ve only been driving since 1968). And now the governor is pushing for another tax increase? They’ve got plenty of money now, it just goes to who knows where. They are going to kill the goose that lays the golden egg, if they haven’t done so already.
The Governor & state legislature…you get what you wish for! The leadership in Hawaii is the result of what is happening in Hawaii. Higher taxes, more fees & locals fleeing to the continental US. Too bad greedy are running Hawaii!😡
You didn’t mention the weak Yen. That’s a huge driver of why the Japanese visitor numbers have plummeted.
Also my comment. It is a great time for Americans to visit non-dollar counties. But not a good time for non dollar folks to visit the US. Several young people we know on Kauai have been taking annual long ski trips to Japan the last two year because it’s relatively cheap for them. Good skiing, too.
What a well written article. Green and many others forget that they live in a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific. The only meaningful industry will always be tourism. Instead of being good at it, and the population earning enough to buy homes, they handcuff it. Jobs and tax revenue will be lost. Residents will be replaced by retirees. Retirees don’t spend money like tourists and the spiral will continue.
We have taken Hawaii off our vacation list . Value and the attitude of locals are the two main reasons, among others. We travel 4-6 weeks a year and found other locations “more welcoming” and as a result more relaxing.
Your 10 items listed plus the cost of flying pretty much sum it up. We had planned 2 weeks on Maui this year, it’s an island we hadn’t visited yet, but canceled after seeing protest signs pictured on Kaanapali Beach. We’ve been to places in n the Caribbean and along Mexico’s west coast and we can enjoy the warm water, warm sand, and unwind there for a more relaxing and cheaper vacation. Doesn’t Aloha also mean goodbye?
Its not just the confused messages that people received about visiting Hawaii that put people off but the extortionate fees that visitors face plus the inflammatory Low end visitors that was described by Green himself. There are other destinations in fact plenty of other destinations.
It’s really simple folks. Hawaii suffers from horrendous leadership. Lots of nepotism going on and when the people continue to support one political party blindly this is the end result. It would have been nice to see BJ Penn become the governor to see what changes he could’ve implemented. After all he’s from the islands so he is far more in tune with what the people want over another hand picked puppet. If you look closely to what is happening, it’s eerily similar to what has happened to California. Oahu has serious problems with violent and non violent crime. Kauai has a Serious drug problem. These things need to be addressed otherwise it’ll slowly decay from the inside out and there are no signs of things getting better.
If you continue to elect the same type of people to public office nothing changes. Try, just for once, voting for someone with a R behind their name on the ballot.
Yes try it. You might like it
I agree. I tried saying the same thing last year but I was “edited”
I’ve travelled to Hawaii every year or so my whole (50+ years) life. Two main points stand out to me that are preventing both Hawaii and visitors from benefitting from tourism.
1. Visitors need a stronger understanding of the history of the islands. The messaging needs to highlight the importance of the culture and historical land use. Spending time in Hawaii should be emphasized as a huge honor – you are visiting someone else’s home. Educate tourists on arrival how to pay respect and embrace aloha. Hawaii legislators need to implement a tourist education entry program and more restrictive real estate laws.
2. Prices of flights are beyond unreasonable. $500 to Europe, $5,000 to Hawaii. The airlines are a problem. Money cannot buy aloha.
Your #1 point is exactly what is driving visitors away. Visitors want to have a vacation. The definition of “vacation” is relaxation and enjoyment. It is not “stronger understanding of the history”, “understanding of the historical land use”, and being made to feel that “visiting someone else’s home” is a “huge honor”. Nowhere else insists on these kinds of “requirements” of their visitors.
Also, less than 10% of residents are actually Hawaiian, so as to “importance of the culture”… the percentage who really have any kind of Hawaiian heritage at all is less than 10%. The majority of Asians on Maui are Filipino. You may not be able to tell the difference between these 2 groups when you visit.
I could say the same about Yosemite and our coasts here in California. I think what would help is stiffer penalties for those who don’t respect and care for it by trashing and trespassing. Be it locals or tourists. One place is not more important than the other.
Where are you seeing $5,000 flights to Hawaii? LOL! That seems like satire. And how do you plan on educating visitors upon arrival? You can barely make people fill out the Hawaiian entry forms that everyone is required to complete.
Delta, United. Flying from small cities in West and Midwest is always more than flying from a West Coast city, but now it is thousands more. Not satire.
Surveys are a weak and unreliable form of feedback. They are like comment cards in restaurants – 90% are used for a complaint.
I meant to suggest that a moment of welcoming info on Hawaii, its culture and history could set an upbeat tone for arrival and might help with some traveller’s horrendous, entitled behavior. It might not. Just an idea. And to address another response, I did not infer that only indigenous Hawaiians do not make up the total population. Calm down everyone. We are just sharing opinions here. Let’s not contribute to more infighting. Mahalo
Visiting Hawaii is no more of an honor than visiting Michigan. It is just another of 50 US states.
Most people visit for the beaches and the sun not to get a history lesson.
I totally concur on all points. Hawaii is declining on many levels and people will go somewhere else.
This is a well written article and I believe the points mentioned are very valid. I had actually just recently cancelled my trip to Hawaii, as I had planned at first to do a Norwegian Cruise Island hopping which after reviewing all the excess fees I cancelled that trip to them look at visiting just Maui. However, it seems like the resorts are charging well beyond what seems feasible, in addition there are a lot excessive tourist related fees, along with a general feeling that tourist are not welcome. I certainly do not want to visit a tourist trap, so I’m redirecting my plans to the Caribbean, hopefully Hawaii can turn things around without imposing so many penalties to those that make an effort to visit the islands.
My first trip from California to Maui in 1997 cost less than $1,000 for airfare, a Lahaina hotel and rental car for a week. My last trip in 2017 cost over $3,000. Today it would be over $5,000. Very sad to see these price increases for such a beautiful place. I think it is ridiculous to stop homeowners from renting rooms. I rented a beautiful room in Hana for a reasonable price. Stopping this is raising hotel prices.
I would love to buy a condo on Maui to rent out and visit yearly until retirement, when I could perhaps spend more time there. But with costs now being so high, visitors seemingly unwelcome and the investment being on shaky ground based on the governor’s comments and apparent intentions, I think that dream is gone for me. Will have to look elsewhere. 🙁
We have been vacationing on Maui for 50 years. We have been over 40 times. The accommodation prices have now soared since covid to unreasonable levels. That combined with negativity makes one seriously consider other destinations. We volunteered several times last fall to ” give back” , which i am happy to do, but with the anti tourism sentiment floating around, even giving back wears thin. It is devastating what happened on Maui. Whole family cried. We donated money and time.
Get your head on right, Maui. So many people rely on tourism. More suffering will result. Dont shoot yourself in the foot. Makes zero sense
I don’t think those wealthy visitors will stoop to purchasing ABC type memorabilia or visit many lower end restaurants. These places will simply go out of business and Hawai’i unemployment will skyrocket
Unemployment skyrocket? Surely you jest. There are help wanted signs posted all over Kauai, at small businesses, big businesses, in the government, even at the post office…Kauai is desperate for working people. Now we need to somehow provide more reasonable housing options for working folks…
The help wanted signs are there because the employees have moved to the mainland because they can’t afford to live on Kauai
any move. Recently read about a Dentist on Kauai who in the last 2 years has had 3 Dental Hygienists quit and move to the mainland.
As a medical professional, myself, I looked into how realistic it might be to work/live in Hawaii. Even working in a high paying surgical specialty, it’s impossible and unrealistic due to cost of living. It’s so unfortunate because healthcare in Hawaii is in such dire need!