Hawaii may soon send its first tourism ambassador to encourage visitors to return. That is what House Bill 1863 does, in plain terms. It would create an Honorary Ambassador to Canada, whose job is to personally maintain relationships with the declining international visitor market.
What Hawaii is actually admitting.
This legislation is narrow and, at least for now, applies only to Canada. The reason is in the numbers. Hawaii had about 540,000 Canadian visitors in 2019. Visitor counts slipped to 433,049 in 2024, and January 2026 arrivals were down another 8.7% from a year earlier, while spending fell 10.3%.
The state’s official explanation for the decline has been vague. DBEDT attributed the shift to “social and political challenges.” The phrase appears in the agency’s tourism analysis but is not explained in detail. The Canadian dollar also buys significantly less in Hawaii than it used to. As of early 2026, the Canadian currency is sitting around 70 US cents. That makes a trip to Hawaii materially more expensive for Canadians.
For decades, Hawaii had no need to do this. The islands marketed themselves through advertising campaigns and travel trade promotions, and visitors came.
The position would sit inside the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT), and the governor would appoint the ambassador for a four-year term. The role would focus on maintaining direct relationships with travel industry organizations and tourism contacts in the market rather than running advertising campaigns. Hawaii wants someone whose job is to keep those connections alive on an ongoing basis, not to promote the islands from a distance.
Hawaii already spends tens of millions of dollars annually on tourism promotion through the Hawaii Tourism Authority. The ambassador position created by this bill would be unpaid. The state is serious enough about losing visitors to create a new government role under new legislation, but not serious enough to pay for it.
No other state has created a role like this, and the reason is geography. Hawaii sits thousands of miles from every major visitor market it depends on, and nearly every visitor arrives via a long flight. That makes Hawaii more exposed than most destinations when a market shifts, because there is no nearby alternative to absorb the loss.
Hawaii built its entire identity on being the place the world chased. Canada is the first market to get an ambassador, and mainland American travelers, who drive the vast majority of visitor spending in Hawaii, might wonder whether anyone is coming after them, too.
Do you think Hawaii tourism ambassadors are a good idea?
Apparently, the state is still on the fence. Originally, the position was scheduled to start this year, but it has been delayed for further discussion.
At this time, we do not know whether the title would be given to a current employee as part of their other job duties or to someone new. The legislation does not indicate whether the person would be based in Canada or Hawaii, or whether the ability to speak French would be a requirement. There would be a budget for the position, but “Honorary” suggests the work would be unpaid.
HB1863 still includes an appropriation section for the position, with the amount left blank in the bill text, and DBEDT’s own testimony asked for $72,500 annually. In that testimony, DBEDT broke the request out as $20,000 for honorary representative remuneration, $20,000 for travel expenses, $25,000 for programmatic expenses, and $7,500 for Budget & Finance restrictions
Now it’s your turn to sound off. Do you think it’s a good idea? If you are Canadian, does this make a difference to you?
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“if you build it, they will come” for the sunshine and amenities. Our infrastructure is in a shambles. Money would be better spent by getting the homeless off our sidewalks and streets, making clean restrooms available at our parks and rest stops, managing popular attractions, and improving access to underutilized areas to attract visitors (Stairway to Heaven, Bryan’s Cabin, Kaena Point, Kolekole Pass, Helemano Trail, fishing and paddleboating in Wahiawa….)
PS Mahalo BoH for the news and tips on Hawaii travel.
As a Canadian who for decades travelled yearly to Hawaii, I can tell you it’s going to take an awful lot more than this to bring us back. We’re supposed to avoid politics in these comments, but that is unfortunately the cause for most of the decline. Travel across the border has til now been predictable and seamless, but no longer. The rule book has been thrown out the window, and it’s simply too risky. We’re afraid to cross the border, and our dollar exchange sucks. And if this pseudo ambassador doesn’t speak French, he’ll be ignored by a large segment of our population. Add to that the crazy taxes and fees that Hawaii is implementing, and it should be clear we’re going to take our vacation money where we’re wanted and appreciated.
Since you chose to mention politics, tell us why your dollar dropped quite a bit around 2022-2023, GDP growth half of US growth rate and unemployment almost double? Coincidentally, right around the time Canadian visitors numbers started to decline. That was way before the one you’d like to blame came to the office. Your purchasing power sucks and you know it. James Carville used fewer words than me to state the same – “It’s the economy, stupid”.
Aloha from Hawai’i.
The important currency issue aside, I think this may also have a lot to do with our current president creating bad blood with Canadians by imposing tariffs on them and, oh, that “we’re going to make you our 51st state” thing. I don’t think that sits well with them, and they have commented about deciding not to support Hawaii as long as Trump is in office.
Classic case of “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain”, as their anti-tourism messaging has been loud and clear.
Not a good idea. The rationale is maybe ok, but it will fail because the issue is too entrenched. Way too entrenched. More silly spending and for sure much more talk talk about goals, culture sensitivity, etc. The issues are cost, and how Canadians view the U.S. most likely; not something yet another ‘ambassador’ is going to fight….but it will wind up with loads of (again) talk talk.
won’t work.
Hawaii needs to improve the image – you are welcome + we’re happy you are here – more Aloha
But ultimately the biggest problem is Trump + his brain. no state is going to change that.
In my opinion, when the Hawaiian message is anti-tourist, the counties eliminate affordable short-term rentals that allow visitors like the Canadiens mentioned in this article to come for longer-term stays, why are we shocked that tourism is down? Hawaii does not offer too many career-oriented occupations for locals like many other states and we are a tourist-based economy that rely on the tax and income from the tourist industry. Eliminating affordable opportunities for retirees or families to stay longer-term coupled with hotels raising rates to incredibly high rates is not helping anyone. Let the market dictate, not government intervention. Like it or not tourism is our lifeblood and should be embraced. With Middle East turmoil and the recent cartel issues in Mexico we should be courting tourist, not pricing them out. Thank you.
Why are Hawaiian politicians so anxious to increase visitor numbers. Is it to placate the hotel industry, (which is continually adding capacity)?
Many of us are happy with lower numbers. When tourists complain about the loss of “Aloha”, some of it is because locals have to constantly compete for parking, groceries, etc., along with increased traffic.
This state is not a corporation that needs to increase profitability annually for shareholders. It’s time to take a step back.
Sending ‘ambassadors’ won’t be nearly as effective as reducing costs. The tourism board needs to understand that this an affordability problem.
Everyone knows that Hawaii exists.
No, and honestly it won’t make a difference for most Canadians right now either. The issue isn’t that Hawaii hasn’t asked nicely enough — it’s that a significant number of Canadians are making a deliberate choice to avoid U.S. travel as a broader political statement. An ambassador, however well-intentioned, isn’t going to change that calculus. You can’t relationship-manage your way out of a sentiment shift that isn’t really about Hawaii in the first place.
That’s what makes this situation genuinely unfair to Hawaii. The islands aren’t the reason Canadians are pulling back, but they’re absorbing the consequences just the same. A symbolic, unpaid role isn’t going to bridge that gap — and until the wider political climate shifts, probably nothing will. Hawaii may just have to wait this one out.
I’m confused, “we want visitors,” “we don’t want visitors,” “we want only rich visitors.” “we only want Asian visitors”, “we only want visitors to come for a week”, now it’s “we want Canadian visitors to come back”. Why not just give us a definition of the visitor they want, and if we can check all the boxes, we can start to jump through all the hoops and all the preplanning needed for a “vacation”.
As a Canadian planning a Hawaii trip this year, I think the article misses one factor. Some Canadians are pulling back from U.S. travel entirely for political reasons, even though Hawaii’s culture and politics are quite different from the mainland. Cost is definitely part of it — the Canadian dollar at about 70 cents makes everything expensive — but sentiment toward U.S. travel in general has shifted for some people. Hawaii may be getting caught in that broader trend even though it isn’t really the cause of it.
Sitting on the beach in Mexico as I write this. We’ve been to Hawaii probably 50 times. Been coming twice every year for a long time. We just can’t bring ourselves to visit as long as we – as Canadians- feel so disrespected by the U.S. administration. It has nothing to do with the dollar or anything else. Just basic respect. Once that changes we will be back. Not sure if an ambassador is going to make a difference.
I travel to Kauai every year (over 50 times now) and always stop at Kauai Coffee. The stop means a lot, but would not make me cancel a trip.
one key question: would that approach even move the needle at all if the primary issue for Canadian’s, from what I’ve heard, is “elbows up?”….meaning this may be more influenced at the Federal policy level between governments than it is at the Hawaii state level. Maybe preserving relationships is still valuable anyway, for if/when federal policy changes? Or maybe Canada has decided to move on already?
Adding More government to a problem created by too much government is just classic stupid.
Business has been down for many small businesses that are facing hiring challenges, staff, shortages, and cutting expenses. We need to welcome visitors back again.