Negative Impacts of Tourism on the Big Island Hawai’i Island, Hawaii, otherwise known as the Big Island, is the largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. The Big Island’s population was estimated to be 196,428 in 2015 (Census 2015). The number of tourists per year far exceeds the number of residents. In 2014, the number of tourists that visited the Big Island reached 1,445,939 (Big Island Now). With record setting highs in visitor numbers, the island must keep up with the continual demand for tourist resources and accommodations, because tourism is the leading economic sector in this county. With more and more people visiting the island, more change is in ensue. These changes in the community to accommodate tourism have had several impacts
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The Big Island has over 100 beaches and 266 miles of coastline. The diverse beaches vary from black sand beaches, green sand beaches, white sand beaches, and ‘pepper’ beaches, a white and black sand beach (Big Island Travel Guide). The island has a diverse flora and fauna and beautiful coral reefs to explore.
Tourism on the Island There are a vast and diverse amount of activities provided for the visitors of the Big Island. The Big Island holds an array of amenities and natural spaces to suit anyone’s leisure and recreation preference. One could stay in a resort for a week, only leaving to go to the beach or shop. Another could take a trip to the Akaka Falls State Park to hike and see the Kahuna waterfalls.
The Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park is a popular attraction on the island. The volcano Kilaeua is 4,000 feet tall and has been slowly erupting since 1983, steadily adding to the island’s land mass. Most come to see the lava flow or spend the day hiking around the Mauna Loa volcano, which is snow-capped and reaches 14,000 feet. Also near the volcanoes is the Jaggar Museum. Here a tourist can learn about volcanography and …show more content…
The growth of the tourism sector has made the economy overly dependent on the tourism sector (Matsuoka 1988). Tourism industries are foreigner dominant enterprises that many locals do not see as beneficial to them personally, like how it is beneficial to the economy. With more than 6,000 hotels in West Hawaii, and a large portion of those in the Big Island, about one in ten people work in hotels or resorts and many of the service and retail businesses account for 40% of the workforce
The Big Island has over 100 beaches and 266 miles of coastline. The diverse beaches vary from black sand beaches, green sand beaches, white sand beaches, and ‘pepper’ beaches, a white and black sand beach (Big Island Travel Guide). The island has a diverse flora and fauna and beautiful coral reefs to explore.
Tourism on the Island There are a vast and diverse amount of activities provided for the visitors of the Big Island. The Big Island holds an array of amenities and natural spaces to suit anyone’s leisure and recreation preference. One could stay in a resort for a week, only leaving to go to the beach or shop. Another could take a trip to the Akaka Falls State Park to hike and see the Kahuna waterfalls.
The Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park is a popular attraction on the island. The volcano Kilaeua is 4,000 feet tall and has been slowly erupting since 1983, steadily adding to the island’s land mass. Most come to see the lava flow or spend the day hiking around the Mauna Loa volcano, which is snow-capped and reaches 14,000 feet. Also near the volcanoes is the Jaggar Museum. Here a tourist can learn about volcanography and …show more content…
The growth of the tourism sector has made the economy overly dependent on the tourism sector (Matsuoka 1988). Tourism industries are foreigner dominant enterprises that many locals do not see as beneficial to them personally, like how it is beneficial to the economy. With more than 6,000 hotels in West Hawaii, and a large portion of those in the Big Island, about one in ten people work in hotels or resorts and many of the service and retail businesses account for 40% of the workforce