How a Hawaiian vacation can be relaxing for tourists...but unhealthy for its residents

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(CNN) --

The Hawaii that most tourists see is one of blue waters and towering resorts of "aloha," "ohana" and hula.

But as it exists now, the powerful tourism industry dictates the lives of Native Hawaiians, often for the worse, said Kyle Kajihiro, a professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and a Native rights activist.

The tourism industry in Hawaii boosts its state revenue, but that reliance on tourism has resulted in native Hawaiians being forced from their homes, and climate change is wreaking havoc on the natural landscape and disrespect for the state. number 50 in the United States that is also the ancestral land of more than half a million people.

"I think it's too easy for people to visit places like Hawaii," Kajihiro said.

"It conditions visitors to feel entitled."

The industry must change to improve the future for Native Hawaiians, Kajihiro told CNN.

He is one of several residents who have worked to educate visitors and return some elements of Hawaiian culture to the people from whom he originated.

If visitors to Hawaii lose focus and instead take with them respect and a willingness to learn, or choose not to visit at all, then Hawaii can be preserved for the people who have called it home for centuries, activists say.

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Learn about the spectacular experiences that Hawaii offers tourists 0:48

For many residents, living in Hawaii is not a permanent vacation

Tourism is the island's largest source of private capital, according to the island's Tourism Authority.

Even amid the Covid-19 pandemic, it's still incredibly lucrative: In April alone, visitors to Hawaii spent more than $1 billion on the islands, according to a state report marking tourism's recovery since the start of the pandemic. covid-19 pandemic.

But what is profitable for the island's economy can have a negative impact on the lives of Native Hawaiians and year-round residents.

To combat drought conditions, residents were asked last year to reduce their water use or face a fine, while large resorts continued to use much more water.

There are millions more annual visitors than permanent residents (in 2021, there were more than 6.7 million visitors compared to 1.4 million residents), which can lead to increased carbon emissions and excessive use of its beaches, hiking trails and other natural wonders.

Hawaii has even been called the "extinction capital of the world" for the number of species that have gone extinct or are at high risk of disappearing.

The National Pearl Harbor Memorial is a stop at Kajihiro DeTours, where visitors talk about the rampant militarization of Hawaii by the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries.

It also has the highest cost of living in the country, in part because the state has to import around 90% of its goods.

Its real estate market is one of the most expensive in the country, reported ProPublica and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in 2020, and with land in high demand and limited supply, Native Hawaiians can spend decades waiting to reclaim ancestral land, which takes some to move from the islands.

"Tourism normalizes and hides the current dystopian reality experienced by many Kānaka Maoli and poor immigrant communities in Hawaii," Kajihiro told CNN.

(Kānaka Maoli is the Hawaiian-language term for native Hawaiians.)

To empower native Hawaiians and give them back some of their rights, the tourism industry must change, starting with its ethos, Kajihiro said.

Kyle Kajihiro, left, and Terrilee Keko'olani offer alternative tours of iconic Hawaiian locations to show how colonialism, tourism, and militarization affect the islands and residents.

(Credit: Marco Garcia/The New York Times)

The real history of Hawaii beyond tourism

In an effort to bring back the stories of Hawaii and educate residents and visitors about the impacts of colonization, militarization, and tourism, Kajihiro created the Hawai'i DeTour Project.

The show, which she runs with longtime activist Terrilee Kekoʻolani, aims to "intersect a more critical historical account of Hawaii" in the hope that it will spark conversations about social responsibility and build solidarity with social justice and the efforts of environmental activists in Hawaii.

Kajihiro takes DeTours to places like downtown Honolulu to discuss the island's former sovereignty;

to 'Iolani Palace, where the US supported a white settler-led coup against Queen Lili'uokalani;

to military landmarks like the Pearl Harbor memorial to discuss American efforts to transform parts of Hawaii into military strongholds.

Although Kajihiro does not advertise his services, visitors are increasingly looking for them.

While he prioritizes educational and political groups that can help create change at the local level, he has seen both residents and visitors on his tours, some of whom become involved in the causes he highlights.

"I guess it could be seen as a good sign that people want to learn and be more responsible as travelers," he said.

"But there are also a lot of people who just want the novelty of a 'reality' tour or seek to relieve their guilt by doing more 'socially responsible' tourism. I'm not interested in giving people permission to visit Hawaii without guilt."

One way to support native Hawaiians is to not visit them, some say

Two educators in Hawaii borrowed the name of Kajihiro's operation for their book, which also shares his principles.

"Detours: A Decolonial Guide to Hawai'i," co-edited by Vernadette Gonzalez and Hōkūlani Aikau, is no ordinary guide: it's a call to action.

The book is designed to educate readers about Hawaii's past and present and the negative impacts of colonization, militarization, and tourism.

Even if readers never make it to the island, the stories transport them to some of the places Kajihiro takes his groups to.

In the book's introduction, González and Aikau write that not all readers will be "invited or allowed to go to all the places that are described", and some places were left out entirely because "they are not intended for outsiders".

Many tourists' relationship with Hawaii is extractive, González and Aikau write, and that relationship must change to one of support if Hawaiian tourists know and the Hawaii in which its residents live is to continue to exist.

Even better, they write, would be to choose not to vacation in Hawaii.

"Sometimes the best way to support the decolonization and revival of Kanaka 'Ōiwi (Native Hawaiians) is to not come as a tourist to our home," the editors write.

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Improving Tourism Begins With Respect for the Islands and Native Hawaiians

Of course, there will always be tourists in Hawaii as long as it remains the islands' main industry, and as long as its beaches attract well-heeled guests.

The Hawaii Sustainable Tourism Association, a nonprofit organization, connects tourists with local attractions that emphasize cultural and environmental responsibility.

The Coconut Traveler, a travel company created by Debbie Misajon, the granddaughter of Filipino immigrants who moved to the island to work on the sugar cane plantations, caters to wealthy guests and charges a responsible tourism fee, 100% of the which goes to local organizations working to maintain Hawaii's natural beauty.

Refocusing the focus of a trip to Hawaii from the guest to the island and its residents could lighten the footprint a tourist leaves there, Misajon told CNN.

"I'm all for coming and enjoying the islands, but I encourage people to find ways to be part of the solution," Misajon said.

"It may be hackneyed, but spend your money locally."

Making fundamental changes to the tourism industry must start with giving rights back to Native Hawaiians and allowing them to decide how they want their culture to be shared and consumed, if at all, Kajihiro said.

A model of this already exists in New Zealand, where Maori have control over how tourists represent and experience their culture, she said, with an emphasis on mutual respect.

"We abolished the word 'tourism,'" Kajihiro said.

"The term itself privileges the consumer, the act of consuming places, and the transactional relationship."

Instead, he said, visitors should "reconsider traveling as if they were walking into someone else's home."

Someone who is a guest at someone else's home can bring a gift or express gratitude to their host in other ways, she said.

"As a visitor, you have a burden to learn, act responsibly, not be a burden and respect your hosts," Kajihiro said.

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