There’s growing momentum for the idea of charging tourists an environmental fee to come to Hawaii.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority’s new Destination Management Action Plans for each island outline how the agency will redefine tourism’s direction in the next three years. The Oahu plan proposes establishing a “regenerative tourism fee” to directly support programs protecting Hawaii’s natural resources in its list of actions, including how to legally collect and distribute the revenue — bolstering a concept long espoused in the environmental community.

“The pandemic has caused us to think about a lot of things, including tourism,” said James Mak, emeritus professor of economics at the University of Hawaii. “Mostly it has caused us to think about economic diversification. It has also caused a lot of people to rethink the jobs they hold.”

Should tourists pay a “green fee” to visit Hawaii? That is the question Mak posed in a recent University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization blog post.

It’s been debated for decades prior to the COVID-19 pandemic that put a pause on tourism, Mak told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. But now is the time to examine the concept once again as Hawaii restarts tourism and as public support continues to grow for better management of natural resources.

Mak has analyzed the concept, noting that natural resources and conservation have been at the bottom of funding priorities for dec­ades. The current level of funding is “woefully inadequate,” he said.

In fiscal year 2020, Mak said the state spent just a little under 1% of its annual operating budget on natural resources and conservation. This was the case 10 years ago, as well as 20 years ago. But there are far more tourists today, he pointed out, than there were back in 2000.

Conservation International in a 2019 report — the year when an estimated 10.4 million tourists visited Hawaii — estimated the funding shortfall to be about $360 million.

The nonprofit suggested the state levy new fees on visitors or reallocate existing taxes on transient accommodations and car rentals to natural resources.

More than a dozen other world destinations, it pointed out, already charge green fees, including Palau, which embeds a $100 charge in airline tickets. Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands also charges a $100 entrance fee, directing the revenues to natural resource conservation, protection and management.

These extra fees, Conservation International noted, did not result in a decline in visitors.

Mak, however, says residents and tourists should pay a green fee because both contribute to environmental problems. Green fees also serve as an incentive for responsible behavior.

“In the aggregate residents have a larger impact than tourists on Hawaii’s fragile environment and hence should also be encouraged to behave responsibly by paying green fees,” he wrote to the Star-Advertiser.

The state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism recently reported a minimal drop in electricity, water and wastewater system use during Hawaii’s closure last year, when few visitors were here.

But environmental advocates say the study did not measure other impacts, such as erosion at popular trails and rundown restrooms at state parks not designed for the volume of users they handle.

Underfunded sites

Hawaii’s coveted state parks, beaches and natural beauty have been undervalued and underfunded for too many years, according to Kimberly Burnett, UHERO associate director.

“I think the basic problem is that Hawaii’s environmental services and goods are underpriced and overused,” Burnett said. “That’s what creates these environmental issues.”

There are impacts to trails, roads, bathrooms and natural areas, and not enough funding to protect watersheds.

Burnett thinks the most effective way of levying a green fee is not an umbrella charge, as was attempted with a bill during the Hawaii Legislature’s 2021 session. Senate Bill 666 proposed establishing a $20 surcharge on transient accommodations to fund environmental workforce programs. The bill never made it to the floor.

Instead, Burnett thinks user fees should be attached to a specific “environmental amenity,” whether it be the Lanikai Pillbox, the Makapuu Lighthouse Trail or a drive along Hana Highway on Maui.

The Lanikai Pillbox, for instance, has become a popular trail among visitors but needs improvements and maintenance. Even with parking restrictions, people are determined to hike up there. Fees collected for use of the trail could go directly to maintaining and repairing it.

“While a lot of folks that hike there are residents, a huge percentage are visitors,” Burnett said. “The fact we don’t collect any charge for that site, that’s something to think about.”

Technology for smart tourism is already available and used elsewhere, she said. There are apps, for example, that visitors use to pay fees, which can also show how crowded a particular site is.

The fees could be variable — higher during peak hours and lower when there is less traffic.

“We should be thinking more creatively about the places people are willing to do anything to get into,” she said.

At Makapuu Lighthouse Trail, people could scan their app at a small stand at the entrance to pay for use of the trail. The same could be done, potentially, for the popular Koko Crater Stairs in Hawaii Kai.

To access Yosemite National Park or the Grand Canyon, people are willing to pay a premium, Burnett pointed out.

The same should be the case for Waimea Canyon on Kauai and many other sites that currently are accessible to visitors for only $5 per person, she said. Places such as Diamond Head State Monument, which was averaging 3,000 visitors a day before the COVID-10 pandemic and recently raised fees, also could potentially charge more.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority destination management plans suggest a reservation system and demand-based fee pricing at popular sites in its list of actions. It also recommends launching a statewide reservation system that can direct visitors to other sites when one is at capacity.

Support from residents

While the proposal to impose an environmental fee on visitors failed in the Legislature, the successful implementation in recent years of user fees at popular trails and recreation areas has gained support among residents.

But most think only visitors should pay, not those who live in Hawaii.

A recent SMS Community Pulse survey asked Hawaii residents whether they would be willing to pay to use beach parks and recreational areas to support more staffing, maintenance and restoration.

Forty-three percent said no one should pay to use parks while 40% said only visitors should pay. Only 17% said everyone should pay.

Destination management plan surveys found that 71% of residents support charging visitors access fees to state parks and trails, and 57% wanted resident-only days at some state parks, beaches and trails.

Oahu residents were particularly critical of tourism’s impact on the Waianae, Windward and North Shore communities, which have experienced overcrowding, traffic and damage to the environment.

“Hot spots” identified in the management plan include Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, Halona Blowhole, Kaena Point, Lanikai Pillbox, Kailua Beach, Koko Crater Stairs, Laniakea, Lulumahu Falls, Maunawili Falls and the Makapuu Lighthouse Trail, among others. The shuttered Haiku Stairs also was on the list.

Curt Cottrell, administrator of the Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of State Parks, said more revenue is certainly welcome, but there needs to be a balance between basic funding appropriations and generating income directly from visitor user fees.

Last year he lobbied the Legislature to fund staff salaries using tax-generated general funds.

With 128 employees, the division has the fewest number of employees of any other state park system in the nation, according to Cottrell. During pandemic-­related closures, state parks were not generating fees and the Legislature agreed to pay for 48 positions with general funds.

The division also needs new equipment, and due to budget constraints, its antiquated fleet comprises government surplus vehicles.

There is a backlog of deferred repair and maintenance projects as well as regular needs such as the pumping of restrooms at comfort stations, Cottrell said. Also, the division scrambles every year to fund county lifeguards at five state beach parks.

During pandemic-related closures last year, the state raised parking and entrance fees for Diamond Head State Monument, which had been $5 per car to park and enter. Now, there is a parking fee of $10 per vehicle and a $5 per person walk-in entrance fee for visitors only; residents are free with a Hawaii ID.

There were very few visitors last year but they started to return at the start of this year, with an influx over the summer.

So far, there have not been complaints about the higher fees at Diamond Head, and the extra revenue is promising, Cottrell said. He expects the monument will bring in $3.5 million under the new fee structure compared to $1.1 million in 2019. The state is looking into setting up a reservation system to go into effect possibly by the end of March.

“We used to be below national average of other state parks,” he said. “Now we’re at about the median price range for comparable state park systems.”

Cottrell said the Legislature now has to approve spending of the revenue generated by state parks, which is expected to reach about $12 million in the current fiscal year, up from $3 million the previous year.

“We are as vulnerable at state parks as the hotel or visitor industry due to our reliance on visitors to pay these fees,” he said.

Parking rates also went up at a number of state venues, including the Nuuanu Pali State Wayside, which reopened in November 2020. For out-of-state residents, they are $7 per vehicle, up from $3 per vehicle. For commercial vehicles, including tour buses, new rates range from $15 to $50 per vehicle, depending on the number of passengers.

Cottrell said the state is hesitant to charge higher rates unless visitors get a quality experience, a kind of chicken-or-egg situation.

“We’re managing public trust resources,” he said. “There should be a fair exchange for the experience but I don’t want to charge more until I can provide a better experience.”