Overtourism in Hawaii

Sun, Sand, Aloha//Driving in Hawaii, beautiful nature can be seen all throughout the state, but will these sights remain for long? Overtourism, which is when a destination experiences an excessive number of visitors, has taken over Hawaii and can lead to negative effects like overcrowding and environmental degradation. (Photo courtesy of Stella Lin)

Finally, the vacation of your dreams has arrived: Hawaii. You check the weather at your destination, get out your suitcase, plan the cute outfits you are going to wear, and head to the airport. Then, you proceed to check your ticket to see when your flight will begin to board. Looking down, you see: Hawaiian Airlines Flight 213, boarding begins at 4:10 pm. Just imagine the beautiful beaches, the island’s blue waves, the sand beneath your feet, and the gorgeous sunsets that look like a work of art. You become more excited than you ever were. Yet, have you ever wondered what the locals think when all this tourism comes right next to their homes and takes over their magnificent landscapes?

Hawaii is one of the most popular vacation destinations when it comes to its beautiful beaches and many fun activities, such as snorkeling and scuba diving. However, locals have mixed feelings about tourism in their home, primarily due to the negative impacts, such as overcrowding, environmental strain, high costs, and cultural degradation. The number of visitors in Hawaii has become too many for the state to handle. Over the past few years, overtourism has had a direct, negative impact on Hawaiian residents through increased pollution throughout the islands, and has made the cost of living increase for local residents.

“Native Hawaiians, already displaced from their lands during colonization, are experiencing a housing crisis,” Pooja Shah from Business Insider claims. “When houses become available, they are bought by tourists instead of locals. People are buying our land as investment properties, so our Kanaka 'Ōiwi — locals — are forced to move further out, and they can't maintain their local traditions or routines. Basically, they need to start over and make a new place their home.”

This directly illustrates one of the many issues locals in Hawaii are facing. Slowly but surely, the overtourism is going too far; locals are even getting directly kicked out of their own homes. This is unfair to the groups that are native to Hawaii and are losing their origins to people who don’t live there, but are rather just profiting off of it. The once beautiful place that locals have decided to settle down in has become virtually impossible to live in. Fewer homes mean increased homelessness and, for that reason, increased crime. Hawaii has started to become a place where outsiders can take advantage of the island in order to accumulate money. With skyrocketing prices caused by the splurging tourists, less and less becomes available for the people who actually live there.

Clearly, this is an issue, as a state that was once filled with many native people, cultures, and traditions is becoming a site that foreigners exploit.

“On my trip to Hawaii, I did not see much trash, and the workers were doing their best to keep it clean; however, I know that in many other resorts and places, results of overtourism in the form of pollution can be seen,” sophomore Raelene Hendron said.

As Hendron noted, even visitors to Hawaii can see the effects of overtourism right before their eyes. The influx of visitors has led to greater air pollution from vehicles, increased garbage, and water pollution from runoff, sewage, and other waste. This contributes to a larger problem of plastic pollution and strains natural habitats and water resources. Environments are interconnected, and things like increased pollution destroy food webs in one place, and can unleash chaos in another area. What happens in Hawaii can lead to worldwide impact if the domino effect of issues isn’t stopped where it is at. Nonetheless, there are various solutions that you can do on your next trip to Hawaii to mitigate the issue.

“On my trip to Hawaii, I went to many locally owned shops,” sophomore Adelaide Connors explained. “One specific shop was a grocery store that had Ube pancakes, which used Ube straight from the island, and they were super good.”

Buying from locally owned shops is a simple way that foreigners can help locals. By supporting locally owned shops in Hawaii, you can strengthen the local economy, creating jobs for residents and providing financial support for local business owners and community organizations.

Spending money at local businesses typically means more of that money stays within the community, rather than going to the big corporations that don’t typically donate or try to support the Hawaiian residents themselves.

Beyond these smaller solutions, there is a far larger problem at stake that cannot be solved by small choices tourists are making that add up to the larger issue.

More needs to be done on the government’s part to regulate the growing problem by limiting the number of tourists or enforcing more sustainable policies to limit the pollution. Despite this, by doing our part, residents of Hawaii or not, we can raise awareness of the problem and take small steps to make a larger impact.

For these reasons, before you start to pack your bags, do your research and plan if it is worth it to you to visit Hawaii, not just for you, but for the people who live there. Sometimes, saving money by staying home or going to another place that is not facing as many difficulties can help you and the people you are impacting. Overtourism in Hawaii has only been growing by the year and does not seem to be slowing down. Although there are some smaller solutions, like supporting local businesses on your visit, it is essential to act on a bigger solution that can really mitigate the problem of overtourism in our country’s Aloha State.