Sustainable Tourism in Maui

Decreased Resilience

While tourism certainly brings in revenue from outside the community, not all of its economic impacts have been positive. Over-reliance on tourism can decrease resilience to disturbances that affect travel, such as covid, changes in tourist habits, and fires.

According to a database provided by the Hawai’i Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, Maui County relies on tourism to generate between 2.5 and 3.5 billion dollars per year, or approximately one third of the county’s GDP¹. In 2020, tourism rates plummeted due to covid, causing them to lose over two billion dollars in tourism revenue.

Tourism numbers have also dropped after the recent fire in Maui prompted Hawai’i’s governor to discourage travelers from visiting the island, depriving tourism-dependent businesses of a significant portion of their revenue².

Higher Cost of Living

The cost of housing has increased dramatically in Maui. According to a database provided by the Hawai’i Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT), the median cost of a single-family home broke $1M in 2022³, and this has contributed to declining public perception of tourism throughout the state. According to the University of Hawai’i Economic Research Organization (UHERO), “In 2024, 75 percent of those who thought tourism problems outweighed benefits cited higher cost of living as a problem”⁴.

According to a DBEDT report, the presence of resorts may make housing more expensive because affordable housing is not often placed near resorts⁵. The report states that “resort workers in places like West Hawai’i and parts of Maui and Kaua’i are hard-pressed to find affordable housing near their workplaces, and must commute long distances.” To make affordable housing more equitable and accessible to resort workers, zoning could be changed to allow affordable housing to be built near resorts. This would make transportation more affordable and open these jobs up to people with limited transportation options.

Insufficient Minimum Wage

A recent report by UHERO shows that wage increases have not been sufficient to keep up with rising housing and living costs⁶. And according to Aloha United Way’s ALICE Report, the state’s current $16/hour minimum wage is not sufficient to meet the “current survival budget of $19.69/hour for a working adult”⁷.

References

1. Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism. (2024, December). Tourism and Hawaii Economy. https://files.hawaii.gov/dbedt/economic/data_reports/download/Tourism%20and%20Hawaii%20Economy_Dec2024.pdf ↩︎
2. The New York Times. (2026, February 3). Revisiting a changed Maui, nearly 3 years after a firestorm. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/travel/maui-fires-tourism.html ↩︎
3. Economic data warehouse. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2026, from https://dbedt.hawaii.gov/economic/datawarehouse/ ↩︎
4. UHERO. (2025, September 18). How do industry views of tourism in hawai‘i compare with residents and visitors? UHERO. https://uhero.hawaii.edu/how-do-industry-views-of-tourism-in-hawaii-compare-with-residents-and-visitors/ ↩︎
5. Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism. (2004, July). Planning for sustainable tourism. https://files.hawaii.gov/dbedt/visitor/sustainable-tourism-project/drafts/General-Pop-Socio-Cultural-Report.pdf ↩︎
6. UHERO. (2026, February 1). Beyond the price of paradise: is Hawai’i being left behind? UHERO. https://uhero.hawaii.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/BeyondThePriceOfParadise.pdf ↩︎
7. Aloha United Way. (2024, May 22). Financial stability in hawai‘i: Understanding the 2024 alice data update. Aloha United Way. https://www.auw.org/alice-in-hawaii-2024-report/ ↩︎

Proposed Environmental Solutions

One potential solution to help reduce environmental damages is by limiting the number of visitors in fragile ecosystems like hiking trails, beaches, and coral reefs. It could be implementing reservation systems or daily visitor caps at popular sites can help reduce overcrowding and protect ecosystems from excessive human impact. Another solution would be to that tourists can help protect Maui’s ecosystems by following environmentally responsibility behaviors. This can be using reef-safe sunscreen, properly disposing trash, avoid touching corals, and following local conservation guidelines. Education programs and signs at beaches and parks can also help visitors understand how their actions can affect the environment.

Engagement Question: What responsibilities do tourists have when visiting environmentally sensitive areas in Maui?

Proposed Socio-Cultural Solutions

Two potential solutions to the adverse socio-cultural impacts of tourism in Maui, specifically those resulting in the commodification and commercialization of cultural practices like language and dance, and the displacement of local residents, include education and improved government policy making.

In order to reduce the damage to cultural practices that occurs with the efforts for commercialization and marketability of these practices in the tourism industry, an effort should be made towards the education of tourists on the authentic meanings of these practices. This can be done through the intermediaries of the tourism industry like travel agents who can educate potential tourists of the sacred purposes of certain traditions (like hula kahiko), as well as on the importance of supporting native-led cultural-based tourism, which supports native and local livelihoods as well as the authenticity of their traditions.

Through the implementation of certain government policies like those that might require employee housing projects for new resorts and hotels, residents could also be protected from displacement when tourism infrastructures are implemented as well have access to these jobs and shorter commutes. 

Engagement Question: What might be a solution to the congestion and traffic that is caused by tourists? Is there one?

Proposed Economic Solutions

To make affordable housing more equitable and accessible to resort workers, zoning could be changed to allow affordable housing to be built near resorts. Affordable housing is often not built near resorts in order to make the area seem more upscale for tourists, but this practice brings long commutes and high transportation costs for those who work in the resort industry. Zoning for affordable housing would make transportation more affordable and open these jobs up to people with limited transportation options.

Another fairly simple solution is to raise the minimum wage to meet the cost of living on the island. The current cost of living far exceeds the minimum wage, and a wage increase would help make life on the island affordable for those that work there.

Engagement Question: How can the resort industry avoid making housing unaffordable, thereby displacing its own workers?

Some socio-cultural impacts of Maui’s booming tourism industry include crowding and traffic congestion which significantly impact the daily lives of locals, the commodification and commercialization of cultural practices like language and dance, and the displacement of local and native Hawaiians for the building of hotels and other tourist accommodations. 

The road to Hana is one of Maui’s longest roads and biggest tourist attractions. It is also a central road for many local people’s commutes as it connects East and Central Maui. As a result of tourists often illegally parking along the roadside to take in the famous views, this central road is often congested, and thus made even more dangerous than its narrow, winding roads already render it. The increased congestion and traffic can significantly affect the daily commute times of Maui natives, and has even resulted in the creation of an instagram page documenting the terrible effects of tourist drivers titled @hanacantstandyou (Clayton, 2022). The tourism driver of this adverse socio-cultural impact is the large number of tourists themselves and the attraction of the beautiful scenery along the road to Hana, the impact is the increased traffic and longer commute times for locals, and this impact has resulted in community resentment towards tourists. 

Even before Hawai’i became a popular tourist destination, its language and culture were under attack with the annexation of Hawai’i in 1898. The newly appointed government banned native Hawaiian, which resulted in the language’s near extinction. Luckily, the language has been reclaimed and there has been a significant movement towards its use. Hawai’i’s tourism industry has also moved towards this use of the language, however, it’s been a more commercialized and Westernized adoption. An example of this are native Hawaiian words that have been tainted from their original meanings to become essentially slogans for selling the Hawaiian way of life to tourists. These words include “Ohana” and “Aloha,” which, from their direct translations, mean a group of people who share everything between themselves, and love or breath of life, respectively (Clayton, 2022). Cultural practices have also been significantly impacted by the tourism industry, traditional dances like the hula kahiko, have shifted from their original sacred, traditional, and communal purposes to one of a commercial performance meant to attract and amaze tourists. The commercialization of luaus where the hula is made to be a spectacle for the enjoyment of tourists has caused this shift of purpose as well as altered the practice itself, “Today, people often associate hula with men and women in short grass skirts with a rapid movement of the hips and twirling fire… The authentic hula is a slower more soulful dance, encompassing a variety of sacred styles and moods and primarily performed by women in full, formal dress” (The House of Kamakahelei). For the purpose of profit and increased tourist appeal, native language and native cultural practices like the hula kahiko have become commodified and diluted, which impacts native Hawaiians’ relationships with these cultural practices. 

Maui’s tourism industry has also caused the displacement of residents in favor of building tourism infrastructure like hotels and resorts. According to Maui’s government’s 2004 report on the issue, “With the exception of some limited employee housing projects, the economics of real estate values near resort areas have often produced a lasting need for established residents to find familiar family-oriented housing far from work, so that long-distance commuting is now part of “rural lifestyle” for many Neighbor Islanders” (Knox, p. I-10). This is a phenomenon known as in-migration, where residents show a trend of migration within an area to another part of the state or country (area). The building of tourist infrastructure like hotels and resorts has resulted in real estate economics that are no longer sustainable for residents who lived in those areas, causing this migration to more rural areas that are more family-oriented and more affordable. This disrupts communities as well as increases commuter times for the residents who work in these industries but cannot afford to live near them.

Clayton, D. (2022). Trouble in Paradise: The Effects of Tourism on the Culture of the Hawaiian Islands. Pressbooks.library.upei.ca, XI(1). https://pressbooks.library.upei.ca/artsreview-xi/chapter/trouble-in-paradise/ 

Gunnison, S. (2019, March 28). Overtourism Is Killing Maui. Medium. https://medium.com/@serenegunnison_78499/overtourism-is-killing-hawaii-a94bd96d6739 

Hawaiian Culture – Hula kahiko. (n.d.). Official Website of the House of Kamakahelei. https://houseofkamakahelei.org/articles/culture/hawaiian-culture-hula-kahiko 

Knox, J. M., & Associates, Inc. (2004). Planning for Sustainable Tourism Part IV: Socio-Cultural & Public Input Study Volume II: Socio-Cultural Impact, General Population (pp. 1–178) [Review of Planning for Sustainable Tourism Part IV: Socio-Cultural & Public Input Study Volume II: Socio-Cultural Impact, General Population]. Hawaii. Dept. of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. https://files.hawaii.gov/dbedt/visitor/sustainable-tourism-project/drafts/General-Pop-Socio-Cultural-Report.pdf

By: Michelle Le

Tourism brings people into direct contact with Maui’s natural environments, which can lead to adverse environmental impacts. Below are three key environmental issues linked to tourism activity, including how they happened, what causes them, and who is affected. 

Coral reefs around Maui are under increasing stress, and tourism activities are one of the main contributing factors. These reefs are extremely important ecosystems that provide habitat for many other marine species and help protect coastlines from erosion, yet they are highly sensitive to disturbance. Tourism activities like snorkeling, diving, and recreational boating bring visitors into close contact with reef environments, where people may accidentally kick or step on coral while moving around. These activities can also introduce harmful chemicals from sunscreen into the water. Boat anchors dropped near reefs can scrape and break fragile coral structures. The ecological consequences include coral breakage, reduced reef growth, and coral bleaching, which can lead to declining biodiversity in reef ecosystems. As reefs become degraded, they also are less resilient to other stressors like climate change and ocean warming. The impacts extend beyond marine life, affecting local economies and fish populations that heavily rely on health reefs for fishing and tourism, while also threatening ecosystems that hold cultural importance for Native Hawaiian communities (Lin, Zeng, Asner, & Wilcove, 2023).

Many beaches in Maui experience increased litter and waste, specifically during tourist seasons when large numbers of visitors are along the coastline. Tourism contributes to these problems through activities involving plastic bottles, food packaging, and other single-use items that may be left behind or not disposed of properly. Over time, these materials accumulate on the sand or get carried by wind and waves into the ocean. This pollution harms wildlife like seabirds and sea turtles, which may ingest plastic or become entangled in debris. In addition, beach litter degrades coastal habitats and contributes to marine pollution that spreads through ocean currents and persists in ecosystems for long periods of time. Polluted beaches can also affect the tourism experience and the well-being of local residents who rely on clean coastal environments for cultural practices and recreation. (Vieira & Costa, 2022). 

Tourism development can also contribute to habitat loss and environmental degradation on Maui. The main cause of this is the construction of resorts, roads, hotels, and other infrastructure needed to support increasing visitor numbers. The pressure pathway occurs when land is cleared to make space for these developments, which removes native vegetation and disturbs natural landscapes. This can increase soil erosion and cause sediment runoff into nearby streams and coastal waters. The ecological consequences include loss of habitat for native plants and animals and increased sediment pollution in the ocean, harming coral reefs by blocking sunlight and smothering coral organisms. NativeHawaiian ecosystems are particularly vulnerable since many species are already endangered or have limited habitats. These environmental impacts affect marine ecosystems, wildlife, and local communities that heavily depend on healthy natural environments for recreation, cultural traditions, and tourism livelihoods  (Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, 2024).

References

Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. (n.d.). Sustainable tourism project. https://dbedt.hawaii.gov/economic/sustainable-tourism-project

Hawai‘i Tourism Authority. (2024). Environmental impacts report.

Lin, B., Zeng, Y., Asner, G. P., & Wilcove, D. S. (2023). Coral reefs and coastal tourism in Hawaii. Nature Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-01021-4

Molokini Crater. (2026, January 8). 5 things you didn’t know about coral bleaching in Hawaii & globally. https://molokinicrater.com/5-things-about-coral-bleaching/

Newsweek. (2020). Hawaii plans to cut visitors to Honolua Bay to protect coral. https://www.newsweek.com/hawaii-plan-cut-visitors-honolua-bay-by-two-thirds-10981423

Vieira, D. N., & Costa, E. (2022). Beach debris and tourism pressure in Hawaii. Marine Pollution Bulletin.

Welcome & Destination Introduction 

Welcome to our blog about tourism sustainability in Maui, Hawai’i – one of the most beautiful nature-based destinations in the world. Maui is famous for its tropical beaches, coral reefs, scenic hiking trails, and lush valleys. Every year, millions of visitors come from all around the globe to snorkel, hike, surf, and enjoy the island’s natural beauty. 

Tourism is extremely important to the local economy, supporting tour and transportation companies, jobs in hotels, and restaurants. Even so, the large number of tourists also creates serious sustainability concerns. The natural environment that many come to see- beaches, coral reefs, forests, and coastal waters- is fragile and can be harmed by too much human activity (Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism [DBEDT], n.d.; Lin, Zeng, Asner, & Wilcove, 2023). At the same time, local communities can face crowded public spaces, cultural tensions, and increases in housing costs.This blog will explore the negative impacts of tourism in Maui through the lens of the Sustainable Tourism Framework, which considers environmental, socio-cultural, economic, and governance dimensions. In addition to examining environmental effects such as coral reef degradation, habitat loss, and beach pollution, we will also highlight adverse socio-cultural impacts on local communities, adverse environmental impacts, economic challenges and inequities, and potential solutions that will balance tourism benefits with ecosystem and community protection. 

Finally, I will also share strategies for public engagement, encouraging visitors, policymakers, and residents to participate in sustainable tourism practices. Our goal is to inform and spread awareness about how Maui can remain a paradise for both nature and people.

Sustainable Tourism Framework

Before we evaluate tourism’s impacts, it is important to define what we mean by sustainable tourism. Sustainable Tourism Framework is a way of thinking about tourism that considers environmental, economic, socio-cultural, and governance aspects simultaneously. Instead of just focusing only on how many visitors come or how much money tourism makes, sustainable tourism also asks:

• Are local cultures and lifestyles respected?
• Does tourism damage local ecosystems?
• Do economic benefits reach residents and not just big corporations?
• Are there policies and management strategies that protect people and nature?

The four dimensions of this framework are:

1. Environmental- How tourism affects ecosystems like forests, water quality, coral reefs, and wildlife.
2. Socio-Cultural- How tourism influences local communities, cultural traditions, and quality of life.
3. Economic- How financial gains from tourism are distributed and if they support long-term economic health . 
4. Governance- How well governments, community organizations, and businesses manage tourism’s effect. 

This blog will use the Sustainable Tourism Framework to evaluate environmental, socio-cultural, and economic impacts that  occur in Maui due to tourism, and propose solutions that help balance tourism benefits with environmental protection  (Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism [DBEDT], n.d.; Lin, Zeng, Asner, & Wilcove, 2023).