Some good answers above, namely about tourism producing lower-paying service-oriented jobs…
Here’s mine:
-Tourism being our "bread and butter" IS a problem in itself. Our entire economy depends on other people visiting our islands and spending money here. So when you have events such as September 11th and tourism dries up, no one escapes its effects. We have nothing else to fall back on.
-The elements that tourism brings in goes directly against what some Native Hawaiians and locals want. Development on previously "unspoiled" lands is always a hot topic of discussion, and things can get bad when the people who live here perceive tourism as being the thing that is destroying their quality of life.
-Related to the above topic, the tourists themselves become the scapegoats for the problems that residents face. Residents ignorantly see the tourist from Oklahoma as the reason why their brother lost his job, which is why you will often find the "effing Haole" discussion come up….but that’s for another thread.
Last one, since I should actually go and do work:
-Money is often disproportionately allocated to tourism and tourist-related….stuff. So what we have are a lot of problems that need addressing that go ignored. For example: public parks that are close to Waikiki are often well maintained, but others on the other side of the island that look like dumps.
We all know that tourism is our main economy, and without it, our island would die. But to say that it does not create bigger problems is short-sighted and ignorant.
Good question.
Tourism is a problem in that it is a service related industry, and traditionally, the kinds of jobs it generates are lower paying jobs. That said, tourism is also a benefit to Hawaii because it brings in huge amounts of revenue. When a tourist comes to town, you don’t have to educate their kids, or pay their medical costs.
This is a situation full of both plus and minus factors, and it isn’t limited to Hawaii. But as long as there is a place with a wonderful climate, friendly people, interesting sights and fun acivities, you are going to have tourists flocking there.
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Tourism isn’t a problem here…..it’s our bread and butter. If we didn’t have tourism, Hawaii’s economy would suffer significantly.
The only problem that tourism creates is the fact that Waikiki is overrun with tourists and don’t allow the locals to enjoy the area.
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One phrase sums it up: low paying jobs. Kids who live here all their life are forced to move elsewhere because they can’t find jobs that any other city has in adundance (i.e. technology, financial, manufacturing, industry, etc). Unlike other cities that cater to a large service economy, Hawaii has an astronomically high cost of living. You cannot afford living off a service job here at $10/hour. Aside from defense industry (i.e. military and its contractors), Hawaii has no other real industry.
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Seeing how quickly paradise was paved over to suit the revenue and growing hunger for western culture is startling to those who remember when Hawai’i’s beauty in her natural form.
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First time I ever heard that tourism was a problem!! My goodness, if it wasn’t for we tourists, quite a few people would be out of jobs!! Mainly alllllllll of Waikiki area!!! All of the hotels, tourist bureau’s, cruises, etc….!!! Much of the people depend on the business the tourists brings to the Hawaiian Islands!!
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Some good answers above, namely about tourism producing lower-paying service-oriented jobs…
Here’s mine:
-Tourism being our "bread and butter" IS a problem in itself. Our entire economy depends on other people visiting our islands and spending money here. So when you have events such as September 11th and tourism dries up, no one escapes its effects. We have nothing else to fall back on.
-The elements that tourism brings in goes directly against what some Native Hawaiians and locals want. Development on previously "unspoiled" lands is always a hot topic of discussion, and things can get bad when the people who live here perceive tourism as being the thing that is destroying their quality of life.
-Related to the above topic, the tourists themselves become the scapegoats for the problems that residents face. Residents ignorantly see the tourist from Oklahoma as the reason why their brother lost his job, which is why you will often find the "effing Haole" discussion come up….but that’s for another thread.
Last one, since I should actually go and do work:
-Money is often disproportionately allocated to tourism and tourist-related….stuff. So what we have are a lot of problems that need addressing that go ignored. For example: public parks that are close to Waikiki are often well maintained, but others on the other side of the island that look like dumps.
We all know that tourism is our main economy, and without it, our island would die. But to say that it does not create bigger problems is short-sighted and ignorant.
Good question.
References :