Tourism in Hawaii

The summer months and major holidays are the most popular times for outsiders to visit, however, especially when residents of the rest of the United States are looking to escape from cold winter weather.

The Japanese, with their economic and historical ties to Hawaii and the US as well as relative geographical proximity, make up the largest group of inbound international travelers to the islands, reaching 1,568,609 in 2017.

[4] Subsequent Western contact began as a consequence of European Enlightenment exploration and was continued by Protestant ministers of New England origin in the early 19th century.

[5][6]: 103 Spaniard Juan Gaetano, who had served as the pilot of a 1522 expedition led by Ruy López de Villalobos, reportedly discovered the Hawaiian Islands during that voyage.

The coordinates of Gaetano's discovery were not reported outside the Spanish Empire until 1743, when a manuscript chart was captured from the annual treasure galleon by HMS Centurion, commanded by Captain George Anson; although the latitude was approximately correct and the physical features were similar to the Hawaiian Islands, the longitude was 17° east of the actual position of Hawaii.

The Spanish Hydrographical Department reported in 1865 that an ancient manuscript chart confirmed Gaetano's discovery from 1555, which he had named Islas de Mesa.

He went on to add "the commander manifested a laudable humanity, in endeavoring to shield the population from the evil effects which so inevitably result from connection between foreign seamen and the native females.

[18] Oceanic signed a contract in July 1882 with William Cramp & Sons for two "first-class iron steamships" intended for the Honolulu route;[19] these were completed in 1883 as the Alameda and Mariposa.

[20] Spreckels traveled to the East Coast intending to contract for the building of two more steamships, but returned in March 1886 after having purchased Zealandia and Australia from John Elder & Company.

In 1888, a writer for the Los Angeles Herald extolled "culture, refinement, and a hospitality so cordial that one scarcely meets it elsewhere" joined with "the island air that is kept pure and sweet by the gentle trade winds' refreshing currents".

[24] Advanced technologies including cars, marketing, hotels, and shopping malls allow vacationers to visit a modernized tropical island, which contributes heavily to steady growth in tourism.

[25] In 1907, Jack London and his wife Charmian sailed to Hawaii, learning the "royal sport" of surfing and travelling by horseback to Haleakalā and Hana, as chronicled in his book The Cruise of the Snark.

[32] Another Matson steamship, Maui, sister to Matsonia,[22] was launched in 1916 at San Francisco, the largest passenger ship then constructed on the West Coast.

[33] However, Matson's Hawaiian routes were interrupted by World War I, as the government announced plans to requisition five ships in 1917;[34] that was later reduced to three: Wilhelmina, Matsonia, and Maui,[35] which served as troop transports before they were released in 1919.

After Lurline completed her complicated 30,000-mile (48,000 km) maiden voyage from New York around the Pacific Ocean in early 1933[23] Matson established regular Honolulu service with the four ships.

[46] The United States's entry into World War II once again prompted the government to requisition Matson liners as troopships; all four "White Fleet" ships (Lurline, Mariposa, Matsonia [ex-Malolo],[37] and Monterey) served along with the older Maui.

[51][52][53] When Lurline arrived in Honolulu on April 21, 1948, after her maiden voyage following the rebuild, she was adorned with the longest lei ever made, 80 feet (24 m) long using 1 mile (1.6 km) of orange crêpe paper.

3 was forced down by engine trouble approximately 300 nautical miles (560 km; 350 mi) from San Francisco;[72] it capsized while being towed back to Mare Island Navy Yard for repairs.

[69] Succeeding where the Navy had failed, on June 29, 1927, Lieutenants Lester Maitland and Albert Hegenberger of the United States Army Air Corps landed at Wheeler Field following the first successful non-stop flight to Hawaii, piloting the Fokker C-2 Bird of Paradise from Oakland to Honolulu.

[82] Maitland and Hegenberger returned to San Francisco aboard the Matson steamer Maui;[83] Bird of Paradise remained in Hawaii to provide inter-island service.

Tourism officials said several factors have kept sightseers away: Two major airlines and two cruise ships stopped operating in the Aloha State, reducing options for visitors, high fuel prices last summer deterred travel, then recessions in Japan and the U.S., as well as California's economic meltdown, slowed the flow of tourists.

Being a primarily agricultural land, producing around 80 percent of the world's pineapples in the 1960s,[120] the addition of Pan Am’s flight route to Hawaii rapidly increased the number of visitors going to the islands.

[126] Based on a study on sustainable tourism, those traveling to Hawaii are interested in the conservation of the natural environment, marine life, and the minimization of plastic.

[127] A master’s student at the University of Hawai’i Manoa suggested the concept of regenerative tourism education to foster the relationships between residents, visitors, and the ʻāina,[128] a Hawaiian word meaning “that which feeds” referring to the land and oftentimes the sea.

[130] By prioritizing the values and existing sustainable practices by local communities living on heavily visited islands, it preserves their interests and further respects their culture.

[135] Tourists visit destinations with developed infrastructure, groomed activities and pristine conditions, which boosts the economy and finances needed to uphold these facilities.

Hiking, specifically in very tourist-attracting locations, causes damage to the local flora and fauna of the landscape, in addition to posing significant safety concerns.

Coral damage is one of the most commonly observed environmental impacts of marine recreational activities which is caused by visitors sitting, standing, and kicking reefs, whether this be intentional or accidental.

This becomes a problem not only environmentally, but also could have a negative impact on the economy as visitors come for the sandy beaches and pollutants such as trash or plastics decrease the appeal of Hawaii as a vacation destination.

"[154][155] However, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has condemned Trask for her anti-American statements, stating that such vitriol helps fuel racism in Hawaiʻi.