Tourism is the activity most responsible for Hawaii’s current economic growth and standard of living. Although many emerging industries – such as technology, film, health & wellness, professional services, specialty products and others – show great promise for the future, our economy and standard of living will probably depend on the activity generated by visitor activity for years to come. At the same time, the visitor industry has major impacts on almost every aspect of our economy, our physical infrastructure, our natural resources, and even our social and cultural lives.
The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) undertook this pioneering study, in cooperation with the Office of Planning and the Hawaii Tourism Authority, to better understand the impacts of tourism growth. The study looked at the extent to which the benefits from tourism can be maintained, while sustaining the quality of our social, economic and environmental assets. This research project examined the impact of visitors on the economy, the environment, socio-cultural factors, and the State’s physical infrastructure (highways, harbors, parks, etc.). The overarching goal was to better understand tourism’s relationship with the rest of the economy, our infrastructure assets and environmental resources. The major products of this study are new tools and better understanding of the costs and benefits of tourism, in order to help policy makers, the industry and the community make decisions on the future of tourism growth. In that sense, the conclusion of this project is a beginning rather than an end. The tools developed in this initial effort will be refined in the coming years and gaps in data and measurements narrowed.
The sustainability approach recognizes that there is no single capacity measure for the maximum number of visitors that Hawaii as a state can or should accommodate. Rather, there are different limits for each specific resource and infrastructure element on each island and for each local community due to both visitor growth and residential growth. Such limits also tend to change over time as we manage resources better, invest in more and better infrastructure and as the nature of the visitor markets change.
By focusing on the sustainability of tourism, this study has helped identified how important resources, infrastructure and social factors are impacted by tourism growth before limits are reached. In addition, the study has developed some general strategies and planning tools to help policymakers manage the industry’s growth in a way that maintains Hawaii’s quality of life and the quality of the visitor experience.