Who would have ever imagined 10 million tourists descending on these islands? That is the projection for 2019. That’s a lot of people for this small state to host. It’s like inviting the entire senior class to your kid’s backyard grad party. The grass is going to get trampled, the toilets will probably clog and the neighbors are going to be mad about all the hullabaloo.
The impact of those huge numbers of bodies coming to these islands is increased by what modern tourists want to do on their vacations.
No longer are vacationers content to lounge by the pool sipping fruity drinks and reading paperback novels. Modern vacations are supposed to be adventures. Tourists want “authenticity” and selfies by a waterfall, scary hikes along cliffs they can brag about to their friends back home and uncrowded beaches known only to locals. Around the world, today’s tourists don’t want to be treated like tourists, shuttled in vans, ushered through safe, sanitized touristy experiences. They want to explore. They want to discover.
Which means they’re everywhere: wheeling their big suitcases through the shopping centers to hold all the souvenirs they purchase. Hiking past signs that say not to hike. Jumping off rocks into perilous waters. Parking their rental cars on residential roads to get to their private bed-and-breakfast accommodations. Getting into trouble in remote places and needing complicated rescues from police, fire and ambulance.
Just 10 years ago Hawaii tourism officials were bemoaning a “challenging” year that brought only 6.8 million tourists to Hawaii. It was the first year since 2004 that annual total arrivals dipped below 7 million people. Two domestic airlines, Aloha and ATA, stopped operating that year, as well as two Hawaii home-ported cruise ships. Add to that the recession and high fuel prices, and tourist visits to Hawaii were, as DBEDT termed it, “restrained.”
It seems very unrestrained now.
Hawaii as a tourist destination isn’t what it used to be. It’s crowded. It’s dirty. The roadways are congested. The image of a green and lush paradise is shattered by the reality of tall concrete and glass buildings, potholed roads, the smell of sewer problems and parks filled with homeless encampments. There’s a vibe here that visitors probably all can sense on some level — not that they’re unwelcome, but that they are customers rather than guests.
And Hawaii as a home isn’t what it used to be. It’s crowded beyond what anyone could have imagined — on the roads, on the beaches, even in our neighborhoods.
Yet so much of the mindset when it comes to tourism numbers is “bigger is better.” The term “growth” is used in economic reports with all the connotations of health and vigor and abundance. There is no end goal, no “this is just right!” — only more, more, more. Ten million is a lot. Ten million is enough. Ten million is probably too much.
Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.
