Tourism's Impact on HAwaii

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Economics

In order to understand the impact of tourism on the industry, it is important to explore how it has positively affected the archipelago. The revenue generated from visitor expenditures, as previously explored, gives a clear idea of how important tourism has been and continues to be for Hawai'i. Since the annexation of Hawai'i, the tourism industry has prevailed as a major sector of the state’s economy. Tourism is the largest single source of private capital for Hawai'i’s economy and also supports 216,000 jobs (Hawai'i Tourism Authority, 2019). In order to meet the demands of lodging, entertainment, and food and beverage services tourism requires, the archipelago needs a well-employed service industry. Dexter J.L. Choy, Professor Emeritus at the School of Travel Industry Management at the University of Hawai'i, investigated the quality of tourism employment to reveal that the level of job satisfaction in tourism jobs was very high. Using the 1988 Statewide Tourism Impact Core Survey, it revealed that a majority, 88% of the 824 respondents, of tourism industry workers were satisfied with their jobs. A career in tourism industry management was also positively looked upon and was seen as a favorable career choice. In a statement used in the Core Survey, 43% of tourism industry workers, 33% of government workers, and 29% of workers in other private sector jobs agreed that they would encourage their child to study tourism industry management. 

Local Involvement

The immense number of jobs and businesses related to the tourism industry also opens up the ability for local residents and Native Hawai'ians to not only get involved in the economy, but to also spread cultural awareness. Local businesses can benefit from tourism by using Hawai'i’s historical richness, which attracts many tourists, to spread knowledge and share the local culture. By integrating tourism and heritage with local culture, a mutually beneficial relationship between local residents and the economy can occur.   According to a report on Native Hawaiian-owned firms from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, Native Hawaiians owned a total of 13,147 firms in Hawai'i in 2012. Of these firms, 30.2% were in the tourism sector and accounted for 10.1% of the total tourism sector firms in the state. Native Hawaiians were most active in the art, entertainment, and recreation industries where their ownership made up 17.1%  of the firms in the state. In a way, tourism has given Native Hawaiians an opportunity to showcase their history and culture to the rest of the world.  

Culture Sharing

The involvement of Native Hawaiians in the tourism industry also reveals how tourism is able to promote diversity at a structural level. As touched on in the previous section of how Hawai'i was turned into a tourist destination, the Aloha spirit and liminality used to advertise Hawai'i to the visitors spurred the archipelago to be celebrated as a site for international cultural exchange. Sarah Miller-Davenport, Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield, conducted research on how the marketing of Hawai'i as a multicultural paradise was able to spread a message of racial tolerance. Miller-Davenport (2017) remarked that as the tourism industry used an image of friendly locals and a unique Native Hawaiian culture to sell Hawai'i to visitors, it fostered in an importance of social amity and a respect for the state’s mutli-ethnic composition.