Usually, the top 10 shoreline stretches tapped annually by Dr. Beach — Stephen P. Leatherman, professor and director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University — are somewhat more remote than Duke Kahanamoku Beach. And yet that sandy strip in the Waikiki urban district is one of three Hawaii sites that made his 2023 list.

It might not have sprung to mind locally, but its width and the reef protection of its swimming area caught Dr. Beach’s attention. Whatever the reason, the hotel industry surely likes the pick.