Tourism is currently the industry most responsible for Hawai`i’s 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 economic growth will probably still depend largely on tourism for many years to come. At the same time, the visitor industry has major impacts (both positive and negative) on almost every aspect of our economy, our physical infrastructure, our natural resources, and even our social and cultural lives.
This project will look at tourism’s “sustainability” – that is, the extent to which we can “sustain” (continue or preserve) both the benefits we receive from the industry and also our social and environmental assets. After all, it is our natural beauty and our Aloha Spirit which nurture tourism and which make Hawai`i such a special place for those of us who live here or come to visit.
Overall Goals of the Sustainable Tourism Project
Because of a history of public concerns over the impacts of tourism (see below), the Hawai`i State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) is conducting a study to assist in Planning for Sustainable Tourism. The goals of the Sustainable Tourism Study, as it is called, are to:
Examine the impact of visitors on the economy, on the natural environment, on the cultural fabric of the community, and on the State’s physical infrastructure.
Provide an information base, an analysis of potential consequences, and an analytical tool (more specifically, a computer model) for proactive policy responses to various tourism-growth scenarios.
The Study will analyze possible future trends that can affect the capacity of the State to handle more visitors. These would include things like infrastructure investment, changes in technology, changes in consumer preferences, and the resilience of the natural environment. The Study will indicate when and where bottlenecks or pressure points are likely to be reached, and then suggest – to the degree possible – management strategies.
This approach recognizes that there is no single measure for the maximum number of visitors that Hawai`i can or should accommodate. Such a number would be different for every specific resource and infrastructure element on every island and for every community. Such numbers would also change over time and as the nature of the visitor markets change. Thus, the Study is intended to identify when, where and how much specific elements will be impacted by tourism growth well before any so-called maximum is reached. Then, the Study will develop some general strategies and planning tools for policymakers to manage the industry’s growth in a way that maintains Hawai`i’s quality of life, the quality of the environment, and the quality of the visitor experience.
History of the Project
The State decided to conduct this Study in large part because of the strength of Hawai`i’s visitor industry in the year 2000. A record 6.95 million visitors came to Hawai`i that year, and the average number of visitors in the state on any given day was nearly 169,000. After a decade of very little growth, this 2000 rebound in tourism reminded many people of past concerns about the impact of visitors on our environment, infrastructure, and standard of living.
Worries about the effects of tourism growth have been persistent since the industry started booming in the 1960s Hawai`i’s economic problems in the 1990s put such concerns on the back burner for a while.
However, given the strong growth in 2000, DBEDT and the Hawai`i Tourism Authority (HTA) began to discuss how increasing numbers of visitors would affect our tourism product and resident quality of life. While HTA’s strategy is to promote growth in visitor expenditures rather than visitor arrivals, its Strategic Planning and Accountability Committee recognized it cannot market Hawai`i vacations without maintaining the quality of the environment and of the visitor experience. These agencies also recognized there was no effective tool to measure and forecast the impact of tourism growth on expensive infrastructure systems such as water & sewage systems, transportation, parks, etc. Moreover, environmental groups and agencies have become increasingly concerned about how tourism growth may be affecting the natural environment and the lack of tools to measure that impact.
As a result of these and other concerns, the 2001 Legislature requested DBEDT to conduct a study on Hawai`i’s capacity to sustain future growth in tourism. Planning for the study and selection of contractors began in early September 2001. The project was subdivided into three interrelated studies (below). The baseline infrastructure and environmental study began in March 2002, and the modeling and public input studies followed beginning in June 2002.
Three Parts of the Project
The project will be conducted as a series of three separate studies corresponding to (1) the need for a baseline overview and assessment of the infrastructure and environment, (2) a study to understand and measure tourism’s economic and environmental impacts, and (3) a means to encourage and obtain public input and examine evidence about tourism’s socio-cultural impacts.
Infrastructure & Environmental Overview Study (Completed): The purpose of the Overview study is to compile an inventory of selected public and private infrastructure, as well as environmental features, in order to establish baseline data for 2000. This component also identifies infrastructure/environmental capacity, usage, problems and future plans and needs throughout the State. This study is intended to provide a basic understanding of the conditions and issues related to the infrastructure and environment around the state, as well as generate information for the modeling phase below.
Economic Modeling Study: This study entails computerized modeling of the impact of changes in the level and composition of tourism on the environment, economy, and infrastructure statewide and in various regions. This will permit exploration of impacts of various tourism growth scenarios over the next 20 to 30 years. The modeling study will integrate the economic, environmental, and infrastructure systems into a consistent framework for State and county policy and planning. Recommendations will be developed for specific policy measures based on different assumptions about growth in both the visitor and resident populations.
Public Input and Socio-Cultural Study: The Public Input and Socio-Cultural Impact Study will gather information from the public, government agencies, interest groups and the business community regarding actual and perceived impacts of tourism on the State’s public and private infrastructure systems, environmental resources, and cultures. It will also provide some objective data, to the extent possible, about historical relationships between Hawai`i tourism and social indicators such as crime rates.
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