500 thoughts on “How Some Tourists are Ruining Hawaii Travel for Everyone”
Steve B
The examples you gave did not seem to line up very well with your argument. None of the examples had the element of enlightenment, really. Just very rude people. And none of the examples particularly had anything to do with Hawaii. There are Starbucks in many places.
This article is Spot On. Having lived in Hawaii for nearly three decades, we have sadly watched the tourist industry change and become so greedy. I know people need to make a living….. but it should not be at the expense of everyone else. The quality of tourist has definitely slipped and the disrespect is alarming. I don’t believe in calling people names…….but the shoe sadly fits. When we are tourists in Mexico, we would never act entitled, because we are the Visitors!! This is how visitors should see Hawaii, too. The Aloha Is A Two Way Street…… please stay in your lane. Please.
This article is pure fact-free bias, no data, no logic. Relies solely on general impressions, feelings, a few extreme cases. Rude, disorderly, entitled people are everywhere, within every group, not just tourists. My family has been in Hawaii over 70 years. There has always been some resentment, anger, frustration misdirected at tourists. The true cause is the lack of protections for the vulnerable, our land, water, air, life, culture. Big money, big power, big corporations do not have or share or protect Aloha. Many residents could never afford a house, let alone a Hawaii dream vacation. Yet they serve those who can afford it, and do all the menial humble work supporting those dream vacations.
My husband and I had a bad experience with a tourist recently. We were at the beach sun baking and an older female tourist was there as well. She was throwing her trash in the ocean. Of course I was rushing out to pick it up. I asked her politely not to do this due to there are turtles in this cove and the plastic will hurt them and the fish and reef. She boldly stated that she is here for the next 2 weeks she is paying all our salaries with her money therefore she owns this f***ing island and can do what she wants. I was speechless.
I have been visiting the Hawaiian Islands, and every year Maui, since 1974… I realize I’m a guest in your home and behave that way! I’m normally outgoing and was raised with manners. Unfortunately not everyone was. Two years ago I caught 3 young men sitting on Honu under a full moon. I yelled at them to get off and get out (some cussing by me) and threatened them with the police if they came back. No manners. I advocate for locals when other tourists act the fool! Okay
I am so sorry that tourist are acting like this. This is my 1st time visiting and I am at awh on how beautiful the culture is and thankful that we have Hawaii to be able to enjoy in it’s organic state with the beautiful people and culture. Maholo
We’re preparing for our very first trip to Hawaii this summer. I am researching and learning and so am on a number of FB groups and blogs concerning Hawaii travel. What I do note, in light of your thoughtful article, is that many are not prepared for the expense of a Hawaiian vacation. Some people are using terms like gouging, taking advantage, making up for Covid, etc. So maybe there is a feeling on the part of some tourists that they better get everything they are paying for and then some. What they may not realize is that everything is up. We have trips planned in the national parks of the western US. They are just as expensive as Hawaii in many respects. This is no excuse for rudeness or impatience, just thinking about why.
We have found that while travel to HA can be pricy, you don’t have to spend a ton of money to enjoy it. We have found relatively reasonable hotels, even on the beach in Kaanapali, certainly within walking distance off the beach, reasonably priced places to eat, and so forth. I am sure you will have a great trip!
I stayed in Waikiki for a month back in September 2021. I have a deep respect for the island because it is after all not my home. I found the businesses there treated me well and I felt the need to give back. I volunteered my time for a few hours of work twice to 2 separate events and feel it is the least I can do for the honor of being able to stay in such a beautiful place like Hawaii. I did however find that some locals (specifically some people I tried striking up a conversation with at Sandy Beach) were a bit cold to me, and I couldn’t help feeling as though they wished I wasn’t there. I could be mistaken but I also thought I heard them call me Haole in a derogatory manner. Made me feel less than welcome and like an outsider.
I agree, there are definitely two sides to this and quite frankly, I am getting tired of reading comments where people are apologizing for other tourists behavior and their lack of aloha, etc.
This is not going to be a popular observation, but some locals and tourists alike can act entitled and create bad experiences.
Sorry that happened to you. Unfortunately some people who don’t respect our culture or environment here on the islands have made a negative impact. Local people love to show visitors the beauty of our islands where everyone is welcome and we tolerate all. I have personally witnessed tourists who are rude aggressive and entitled. When this happens everyone around me is sickened. We cannot be expected to accept this disrespect in the name of profit of tourism. We don’t live for materialism. We live for our culture that is based on Aloha for the brotherhood of man.
Reading articles like this is frustrating as I feel like it just fuels division.
One of my main issues with this article is that these examples are framed like an us vs them mentality, when in reality it really shouldn’t be. I really feel like what may be perceived by many locals as revenge tourism or a lack of respect is not the case, there are a$$holes everywhere and this type of thing happens in day to day life for everyone, it just happens to be easier to blame it on the people that stand out and are clearly not “local”.
I can think of several examples of locals that treated me poorly or acted aggressively toward me because I am a haole, I was even called a haole when checking into a hotel, but I realize these are isolated cases.
I live in a heavily touristed area of San Diego CA. Visitors have always been know for aggressive, entited behavior. They walk and talk whenever or however they want. A pet peeve if mine is entire families wandering the aisles of Transfer Joe’s, haha.
What has become obvious is the amount of first time visitors who want to get on every “ride” as quickly as possible. Tick every box and plan their day to be jam packed. This alone is going to make for tired angry visitors and disgruntled locals.
That being said we’re on Oahu right now and have experienced nothing but lovely people. Aloha
I have had the opportunity to visit Hawaii two times and I really want to go back for a third time. This was in the 90’s. I absolutely loved the Hawaii Aloha spirit. Me, my Mom and my 6 yr old son were walking along Waikiki and met a native Hawaiian who was extra friendly and spoke with us for a while and he gave us the scoop on all the the “must see and where to eat. We found everyone so friendly and helpful. It’s a shame some visitors are so rude. I hope the Aloha sprit remains. Love you Hawaii!
The examples you gave did not seem to line up very well with your argument. None of the examples had the element of enlightenment, really. Just very rude people. And none of the examples particularly had anything to do with Hawaii. There are Starbucks in many places.
Entitlement* I meant to say.
This article is Spot On. Having lived in Hawaii for nearly three decades, we have sadly watched the tourist industry change and become so greedy. I know people need to make a living….. but it should not be at the expense of everyone else. The quality of tourist has definitely slipped and the disrespect is alarming. I don’t believe in calling people names…….but the shoe sadly fits. When we are tourists in Mexico, we would never act entitled, because we are the Visitors!! This is how visitors should see Hawaii, too. The Aloha Is A Two Way Street…… please stay in your lane. Please.
This article is pure fact-free bias, no data, no logic. Relies solely on general impressions, feelings, a few extreme cases. Rude, disorderly, entitled people are everywhere, within every group, not just tourists. My family has been in Hawaii over 70 years. There has always been some resentment, anger, frustration misdirected at tourists. The true cause is the lack of protections for the vulnerable, our land, water, air, life, culture. Big money, big power, big corporations do not have or share or protect Aloha. Many residents could never afford a house, let alone a Hawaii dream vacation. Yet they serve those who can afford it, and do all the menial humble work supporting those dream vacations.
Spot on assessment! I really like the perspective you provided.
My husband and I had a bad experience with a tourist recently. We were at the beach sun baking and an older female tourist was there as well. She was throwing her trash in the ocean. Of course I was rushing out to pick it up. I asked her politely not to do this due to there are turtles in this cove and the plastic will hurt them and the fish and reef. She boldly stated that she is here for the next 2 weeks she is paying all our salaries with her money therefore she owns this f***ing island and can do what she wants. I was speechless.
OMG!!!!!!
I have been visiting the Hawaiian Islands, and every year Maui, since 1974… I realize I’m a guest in your home and behave that way! I’m normally outgoing and was raised with manners. Unfortunately not everyone was. Two years ago I caught 3 young men sitting on Honu under a full moon. I yelled at them to get off and get out (some cussing by me) and threatened them with the police if they came back. No manners. I advocate for locals when other tourists act the fool! Okay
I am so sorry that tourist are acting like this. This is my 1st time visiting and I am at awh on how beautiful the culture is and thankful that we have Hawaii to be able to enjoy in it’s organic state with the beautiful people and culture. Maholo
We’re preparing for our very first trip to Hawaii this summer. I am researching and learning and so am on a number of FB groups and blogs concerning Hawaii travel. What I do note, in light of your thoughtful article, is that many are not prepared for the expense of a Hawaiian vacation. Some people are using terms like gouging, taking advantage, making up for Covid, etc. So maybe there is a feeling on the part of some tourists that they better get everything they are paying for and then some. What they may not realize is that everything is up. We have trips planned in the national parks of the western US. They are just as expensive as Hawaii in many respects. This is no excuse for rudeness or impatience, just thinking about why.
We have found that while travel to HA can be pricy, you don’t have to spend a ton of money to enjoy it. We have found relatively reasonable hotels, even on the beach in Kaanapali, certainly within walking distance off the beach, reasonably priced places to eat, and so forth. I am sure you will have a great trip!
I stayed in Waikiki for a month back in September 2021. I have a deep respect for the island because it is after all not my home. I found the businesses there treated me well and I felt the need to give back. I volunteered my time for a few hours of work twice to 2 separate events and feel it is the least I can do for the honor of being able to stay in such a beautiful place like Hawaii. I did however find that some locals (specifically some people I tried striking up a conversation with at Sandy Beach) were a bit cold to me, and I couldn’t help feeling as though they wished I wasn’t there. I could be mistaken but I also thought I heard them call me Haole in a derogatory manner. Made me feel less than welcome and like an outsider.
I agree, there are definitely two sides to this and quite frankly, I am getting tired of reading comments where people are apologizing for other tourists behavior and their lack of aloha, etc.
This is not going to be a popular observation, but some locals and tourists alike can act entitled and create bad experiences.
Sorry that happened to you. Unfortunately some people who don’t respect our culture or environment here on the islands have made a negative impact. Local people love to show visitors the beauty of our islands where everyone is welcome and we tolerate all. I have personally witnessed tourists who are rude aggressive and entitled. When this happens everyone around me is sickened. We cannot be expected to accept this disrespect in the name of profit of tourism. We don’t live for materialism. We live for our culture that is based on Aloha for the brotherhood of man.
Reading articles like this is frustrating as I feel like it just fuels division.
One of my main issues with this article is that these examples are framed like an us vs them mentality, when in reality it really shouldn’t be. I really feel like what may be perceived by many locals as revenge tourism or a lack of respect is not the case, there are a$$holes everywhere and this type of thing happens in day to day life for everyone, it just happens to be easier to blame it on the people that stand out and are clearly not “local”.
I can think of several examples of locals that treated me poorly or acted aggressively toward me because I am a haole, I was even called a haole when checking into a hotel, but I realize these are isolated cases.
I live in a heavily touristed area of San Diego CA. Visitors have always been know for aggressive, entited behavior. They walk and talk whenever or however they want. A pet peeve if mine is entire families wandering the aisles of Transfer Joe’s, haha.
What has become obvious is the amount of first time visitors who want to get on every “ride” as quickly as possible. Tick every box and plan their day to be jam packed. This alone is going to make for tired angry visitors and disgruntled locals.
That being said we’re on Oahu right now and have experienced nothing but lovely people. Aloha
I have had the opportunity to visit Hawaii two times and I really want to go back for a third time. This was in the 90’s. I absolutely loved the Hawaii Aloha spirit. Me, my Mom and my 6 yr old son were walking along Waikiki and met a native Hawaiian who was extra friendly and spoke with us for a while and he gave us the scoop on all the the “must see and where to eat. We found everyone so friendly and helpful. It’s a shame some visitors are so rude. I hope the Aloha sprit remains. Love you Hawaii!
Thank you for your nice reply, but the proper way to speak is my Mom, my 6 yr old son, and me.
Sandi,
I think you should have left it at: “Thank you for your nice reply”
Hahaha, “and I”