Hawaii’s Overtourism Problem May Get Worse Than Ever

Now, just three years in, the “Malama Hawaii” or “Care for Hawaii” initiative to push sustainable tourism may be on its way out. Tourism TensionsThe friction between legislators and Hawaii’s tourism office is not new. It reached a boiling point in 2019, when Hawaii’s 1.5 million residents watched it become a case study in overtourism amid 10.4 million annual arrivals. For many Hawaiians inside and outside the government, HTA was a victim of its own success marketing the state. Also at risk would be the reservations systems and crowd control measures that are currently mitigating overtourism in Hawaii’s most fragile and beautiful corners.