State indicated Hawaii visitor spending up just 23%, but how is that even possible with prices through the roof?
Leave a Comment
151 thoughts on “Hawaii Visitors Left Reeling By Up to 300% Cost Increases”
State indicated Hawaii visitor spending up just 23%, but how is that even possible with prices through the roof?
The cost of visiting our beautiful islands is prohibitive and no one seems to talk about lowering hotel and tax prices. I cannot wait for last minute airfare discount when I am a part time resident. The sad thing is that cost of food has tripled since Covid and Hawaiians cannot afford to stay. No one pays attention to that problem. We need a solution and not a negative statement about tourism.
Aloha Catherine,
Over-tourism is one of the main root causes of what you mentioned in your comment. It’s the old tried and true law of supply and demand. When you have too much demand and not enough supply, the prices skyrocket. Part of the solution is to severely curtail tourism to a more sustainable and equitable level for all involved, but especially the full-time residents.
The most effective way to “severely curtail” non residents is to ceceed from the US, set up your own government and limit the # of visas issued per year.
As a member of the rest of America, I don’t want to be paying taxes (which go to HI far more than HI pays in) to be told *”you can’t come here, we don’t want you here”*. (Residents of HI would be agast to be told “you cant come to the mainland”) …Which is exactly what the average “overtourism message” is saying…”ive got mine, now everyone else stay out”). You cannot demand my $ but say i am not welcome. *Choose*. Then elect public officials that share that belief and take action.
No right or wrong, but don’t try to have it both ways.
Mike, you make it sound like Hawaiians wanted to become a state, instead of being overthrown as they were and still want the same. That was really funny.😂
As far as rejecting the tax benefits of being part of the union and just creating their own government and issuing limited visas, you must be living in a dream.
Very true, Mike. But you and I both know that the United States will never reverse their crime of illegally stealing Hawaii and allow it to secede. The U.S. acknowledged the crime of overthrowing the Hawaiian monarchy when Bill Clinton was President, but that’s as far as it will ever go.
The next best thing that we have is good ole’ capitalism and the law of supply and demand. If only the richest people can afford to visit here, so be it. That is Far less than having the masses overrun the islands.
Gotta love the free market, right?😉
Try living in Hawaii and talk about the RESIDENTS who work the tourist jobs and beyond that make Hawaii.
Where’s the 2 billion going?
Rent, food, and especially day to day expenses are up 83%!
We love Hawaii but noticed a price increase from out visit in 2021 and 2022. We stayed at the same hotel ( Hilton Hawaiin village) rented a car and even flew out of an airport 2 hours from our home. As much as we would love to come back again this year we have opted to go to a carribean island for vacation. Hopefully we will return 2025.
just quit going ……see where that gets them.
I agree!
Good afternoon,
I know several people that used to go to Hawaii every year are now choosing to go to Mexico because it’s much cheaper and they are able to stay in all exclusive resorts. They’re getting more for their money.
I find the hospitality industry’s habit of gouging based on demand is wholly to blame for “last minute planning” of travel as travelers seek to avoid being gouged by rental car, airline, and lodging multinational conglomerates. We want to spend “local” but after the opportunistic gouges pick our wallets, what do we have left? Stay on the resort and eat the buffet instead of going into town for a nice splurge. Sorry, that’s how it is. Can hawai’I do something about that? Doubtful!
The residents want you caged in the all-inclusive resorts, not mingling in the towns and causing them great inconvenience.
This isn’t a problem to do something about, it is a benefit for the residents.
The residents who are not connected somehow to the tourism industry, that is.
The only residents affected the elimination of tourism will be the residents who own or have jobs in retail, restaurants, grocery stores, furniture stores, carpenters, housekeepers, property managers, activity companies like sailing, snorkeling, sunset cruises, and government workers who benefit from the huge amount of taxes paid by non-hotel accommodations owners. Those are the only ones who will be desitute.
But who cares about them, everyone else like independently wealthy transplants (“I’ve got mine, now go away”), and government check collectors will be fine, and will love having the beaches back all to themselves!
Aloha PatG,
Your frustration on this trend of seeing tourism in Hawaii inevitably going down is understandable. No one wants to see their income dry up.
However, it does no good to cry in your soup. The curtailing of over-tourism is happening and will not be stopped. The costs far outweigh the benefits and this has been proven over time. MOST residents get absolutely no benefits from the tourism industry, whereas the main benefactors don’t even live here in the islands!
Instead of complaining about the direction this is obviously going in, people in the tourism industry need to be adults and prepare themselves and their families for the shift. They see it coming. They have options. This is America and they have freedom to adapt in order to be able to stay in this beautiful place. I see no shortage of opportunities to educate oneself, especially now that remote work is here to stay. It takes discipline and determination to change oneself with the times.
Throughout history this has happened. Jobs get eliminated. New jobs get created. Just like most life on our planet, humans have the unique ability to be creative and adjust. Otherwise, everyone would still be going around as hunters and gatherers of food and living in caves. That would just look silly.
I’m broken-hearted for my many friends who work in hospitality and have had to leave the islands because of their hours being cut. I don’t think they would agree with you that they are “crying in their soup”, or that their feelings are “silly”.
Hopefully we can achieve some sort of balance and these folks can return. We just need to look beyond the heartless residents who just don’t care whether they return or not.
PatG, we’re all sensitive to the heartbreaking decision of having to leave this beautiful place that means so much to us. I get it. For myself, it was necessary for me to leave a few times, for many years before I could return again. And hopefully this time, my stay is permanent.
With that said, as an adult, I have discovered something that all adults need to realize. No one at no time owes you anything. You have to work hard for what’s important to you & no one has your best interests at heart more than you.
Over 25 years ago, I knew that this was a tough place to earn a living & I did what I needed to do in order to give myself a better chance to stay the next time. It was that important to me. No one was going to hand it to me on a silver platter.
Let’s be honest, it is well-known that the hospitality industry here has ALWAYS been volatile, unreliable & fickle. Especially since Covid. If a person chooses to stick their head in the sand & not wake up to that reality, rather than invest in an education that will provide a career that’s a bit more solid, that’s on them & they only have themselves to blame.
As I said in a previous post, we live in America. This is a place that allows you to be just about anything that you want & you can get the education practically for free through sources like YouTube, community college and government grants. If you are able-bodied, a person just needs to get it done. No excuses. Take responsibility for your life.
And this isn’t just happening here in Hawaii. There is the inevitable march of Artificial Intelligence that has made it so obvious that certain jobs will disappear very, very soon. We have the benefit of seeing the trend and the ability and time to prepare. It is everyone’s individual responsibility to man or woman up and do something about it instead of standing in one spot complaining and screaming at the winds of change. It doesn’t do any good and the only thing that will happen is that you’ll be left behind. Jus’ sayin’. Aloha
I travel to the island once a year. Parents were born in Honolulu. Its almost too expensive to visit with our family. Rent and food is way too expensive compared to what they were before covid.
Hawaii is very expensive, gas, food, car rentals and lodging, what makes it expensive are the taxes on just about anything.
Personally, I am taking this as an opportunity to explore French Polynesia. The pictures look as if they were shot in Hawaii! Plus, the ocean is a lot more friendly thanks to the surrounding reef and multiple lagoons. Yes, the flight is longer from the West Coast, but the hotels are actually cheaper!
I was actually in Tahiti in June. I’m from the East coast, flew out of Boston. Flight was about the same price as to Hawaii, beachfront resort was $101 a night, car was $400 for the week, food was no more expensive than Boston, and lastly gas was about the same price as home, $3.30ish a gallon at the time. Definitely recommend it, also it feels more authentically Polynesian, as America has a tendency to ruin everywhere we touch.
French food, real, genuine Polynesians- not hotel reenactors, airfares and travel now more comparable- with way better service, no stink eyes, resentful attitudes, and better beaches, and hospitality, beauty, culture, a travel that’ s rewarding!
We owned two weeks’ annual vacation rental at Lawai Beach Resort on Kauai’s south shore since it opened around 1992 till we sold (at a huge loss) in 2010. At first the annual homeowners fees were pretty reasonable but after a few years they skyrocketed. We believe we were low-balled. That is the main reason we sold at a loss. We miss going there each July but along with the other steeply rising costs, it stopped making sense for us.
Sounds like things have gotten worse.
So the elite own Hawaii. Too bad for the rest of us and for the middle and lower income families of Hawaii. The ones who clean the hotel rooms, etc and own small businesses that rely on the summer tourism. It’s a new way for the United States of America so sad.
My family recently traveled to Honolulu. The most striking difference noticed beside increased cost was the level of street filth, and street drug users! In a word, brutal!! Also the cost. We looked into attending the Hilton Lua. It was insane. About 700$ per person!! We won’t be going anytime. There are far more clean affordable places on this planet.
Hi Curt.
That luau is priced from approx. $100-$200 offer person according to their website.
Aloha.
$100 per person is still highway robbery for bad buffet food and a revisionist entertainment.
Totally agree with you. The streets have trash blowing everywhere and we wouldn’t dare walk around downtown. We tried traveling around the island and found road crews repairing potholes every few miles. I used to travel to the four main islands every 3 months and it has gotten much worse.
It all comes down to supply and demand. Once demand for Hawaii decreases, prices will drop.
Hawaii should not be too concerned about a loss of tourists. Perhaps fewer tourists will mean greater respect for Hawaii traditions.
It was a great place to live, relatively speaking, during the pandemic. Waikiki was practically vacant, locals only. It was awesome.
Only idiots would blow a vacation in Hawaii
I vacationed every 2 years on Maui for 10 to.14 nights Ocean front older condo.
This was what I looked forward to. I prebooked each time I departed.
Well, no more, Island Style
has changed, not for the good. Mainlanders, have little respect for Hawaii traditions, or life style.
This saddens me. Is money wort it? Trashing trails, beaches, religious sites?
I hope not. Close the gates to paradise. Let the earth heal, just put up sigh, closed until further notice. Sorry, hotels, airlines, restaurants,
tour companies, and get all those rental cars off island.
Just my opinion. Aloha
Aloha BOH,
Thank you for all of your articles and how evenhanded you are with the information that you present. I’m sure that as a longtime resident, you have seen how much Hawaii has changed over the years, due to us having too much of a good thing, namely tourism.
This golden goose has turned on us and become a vicious viper. There was supposed to be a fair trade between us offering the unique island experience to people from all over the world for a decent living for the locals.
As we both know, this simply hasn’t worked out, in the locals’ favor, that is. The deal has soured and many, including myself would rather lower our standard of living, voluntarily, mind you, and be able to live a comfortable life here. Rather than, on the other hand, having our standard of living lowered involuntarily or not be able to live here at all due to over-tourism.
With all of that said, my question to you is, have you addressed these concerns in past articles, or will you cover this very important issue on a regular basis in the future? This will definitely help to educate many of your readers who may not realize the unintentional negative impact they have when visiting, only to have a bad experience when they arrive and not understand why.
I believe in education and awareness. They are powerful tools in helping to solve problems and come up with innovating solutions. Just my thoughts. Looking forward to hearing yours. Aloha.
Hi RP.
Thanks. Yes we definitely have written about how tourism money and other aspects of the industry are often not a benefit to residents. On the other hand, many residents make a living directly or indirectly as a result of the tourism industry. It’s a complicated subject, not the least part of which is the dire lack of affordable housing.
Aloha.
Great thoughts, BOH. Evenhanded and fair, as always. Thank you for your hard work. :0)
Hi RP.
Thanks. We appreciate that!
Aloha.
People who aren’t making their living off of tourism naturally don’t care if there are no tourists, and in particular, don’t care about the well-being of their fellow residents who do make their living in tourism. The folks that don’t care can easily be identified in this thread.
Imagine how we feel living here. Can’t buy a house unless you make over 150k. All those people serving you at fancy restaurants do not live in excess whatsoever. Living here is much more of a crazy cost than visiting here.
That’s the main reason we moved from Hawaii after nearly 8 years. The COL is ridiculous for what you get. We made about $150K and unless you can put 50% down, I don’t see how you’re affording a median priced million dollar home on Oahu. And one that likely still needs work. And renting… well, if you’re gainfully employed you can get by, but retiring on a fixed income and not owning your house? Not a good spot to be in.
And yeah, the cost for eating out just got stupid, plus tipping culture that is out of hand. I feel bad for the people stuck there, really. But unfortunately Hawaii seems incapable of changing for the better. Good luck with getting critical services in 10 years. The state is already falling apart. Not sure where all that money is going, but it doesn’t seem to be going back into infrastructure, affordable housing or workers pockets.
I’m grateful for my time there and wish the people well and good luck.
The council on Maui just passed a 1 billion dollar budget for the 2nd year in a row. You read that right. One. Billion. For 150K residents. Most of the money for the budget is coming from taxes on non-residents and tourism.
You are right to question where the money is going.
I retired late 2021 and flew to Oahu to put in apps at several senior citizen/low income apartments. Surprisingly, four months later I was offered a studio at that newer tower in Kapolei that was my top choice. Unfortunately the mgmt raised the rent two weeks into my stay, and would not keep my neighbor from vibrating our common wall with his stereo or TV from midnite to six a.m. Since other complexes there wanted 2500 to 3000 for a unit, plus have an income two to three times the rent, didn’t leave me any choice but to return to the mainland. It won’t be long before the entire highway from Kapolei to Makaha will be lined with tents. My dream come true crashed pretty quickly.
Thanks.
We have been to Hawaii 10 times on 11 years. Our favorite destination is Kauai. 8 of our vacations have been there. We have found that the greatest price increases are rental car rates, excursion prices and restaurant prices. We make it a practice to patronize the farmer’s markets so we can enjoy the local food in our timeshare at least for one meal a day. We generally dine in fine restaurants every third day and local small restaurants the other days. This year we’ll be back, but the car rental prices are through the roof this time. We keep returning because we feel a connection with the Hawaiian spirit and culture. Definitely looking forward to returning soon but not keen on the cost increases.
Aloha.
Hawaii is beautiful. But once you’ve seen it, you’ve seen it. There’s far more to see in Europe. Price is price. People will find a way to see what they want to see, go where they want to go. Travel is very personal. People will pay for what they want.
Visitors don’t realize how much the middleman booking companies such as Trip Advisor / Viator drive up the costs by charging small businesses and tour providers over 30% commissions. This is strangling small business profitability, and these big companies do little to earn what they take. Always search out and book direct if possible.