Tourism in Hawaii
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Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
is a
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
that is an archipelago in the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. Of the eight major islands,
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
,
Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...
,
Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...
, and
Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...
have major tourism industries, while it is limited on
Molokai Molokai , or Molokai (), is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands, Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length an ...
and Lānai and access to
Niihau Niihau ( Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Niihau ( ), is the westernmost main and seventh largest inhabited island in Hawaii. It is southwest of Kauaʻi across the Kaulakahi Channel. Its area is . Several intermittent playa lakes provide wetland hab ...
and
Kahoʻolawe Kahoolawe (Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Kahoolawe (), is the smallest of the eight main volcano, volcanic islands in the Hawaiian Islands. Kahoolawe is located about southwest of Maui and also southeast of Lanai, Lānaʻi, and it is long by wide ...
is restricted. The state's favorable climate, tropical landscape, beaches, and culture make it among the U.S's most visited states. In 2017 alone, according to state government data, there were over 9.4 million visitors to the Hawaiian Islands with expenditures of over $16 billion. Tourism makes up 21% of the state's economy, with many of Hawaii's largest industries revolving around the constant flow of tourists. Due to the mild year-round weather, tourist travel is popular throughout the year. The summer months and major holidays are the most popular times for outsiders to visit, however, especially when residents of the rest of the United States are looking to escape from cold winter weather. The Japanese, with their economic and historical ties to Hawaii and the US as well as relative geographical proximity, make up the largest group of inbound international travelers to the islands, reaching 1,568,609 in 2017. The average Japanese stays only 5 days while other Asians stay over 9.5 days and spend 25% more.


History of travel to Hawaii

Hawaii was first populated no later than the 2nd century CE by people of Polynesian origin, most likely from Tahiti. Subsequent Western contact began as a consequence of
European Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
exploration and was continued by Protestant ministers of
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
origin in the early 19th century.


16th century

According to Hawaiian tradition, a vessel wrecked at Keʻei near
Kealakekua Bay Kealakekua Bay is located on the Kona coast of the island of Hawaii about south of Kailua-Kona. Settled over a thousand years ago, the surrounding area contains many archeological and historical sites such as religious temples (heiaus) and also ...
in the 1560s with only two survivors: the captain and his sister. Their penitent posture led to the naming of the place as Kūlou; they later intermarried with the native population and their descendants became prominent chiefs. The timing coincides with the voyage of a small fleet of three vessels commanded by
Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón (often written as Álvaro de Saavedra) (d. 1529) was one of the Spanish explorers in the Pacific Ocean. The exact date and place of his birth are unknown, but he was born in the late 15th century or early 16th century in ...
, who departed Mexico on October 31, 1569; during that voyage, two ships disappeared after a storm. Spaniard
Juan Gaetano fil, Galyon ng Maynila , english_name = Manila Galleon , duration = From 1565 to 1815 (250 years) , venue = Between Manila and Acapulco , location = New Spain (Spanish Empire) ...
, who had served as the pilot of a 1522 expedition led by
Ruy López de Villalobos Ruy López de Villalobos (; ca. 1500 – April 4, 1546) was a Spanish explorer who sailed the Pacific from Mexico to establish a permanent foothold for Spain in the East Indies, which was near the Line of Demarcation between Spain and Portugal a ...
, reportedly discovered the Hawaiian Islands during that voyage. The official narrative of the voyage reported that a group of islands were found after approximately 30 days of sailing west from Mexico, which were named the ''Islas del Rey''; these were later speculated to be the
Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the centra ...
or
Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...
, not Hawaii. The coordinates of Gaetano's discovery were not reported outside the Spanish Empire until 1743, when a manuscript chart was captured from the annual treasure
galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch War ...
by , commanded by Captain George Anson; although the latitude was approximately correct and the physical features were similar to the Hawaiian Islands, the longitude was 17° east of the actual position of Hawaii. The Spanish Hydrographical Department reported in 1865 that an ancient manuscript chart confirmed Gaetano's discovery from 1555, which he had named ''Islas de Mesa''. continues as to whether the Spanish visited the islands before James Cook.


18th century

In 1748, Anson published a redrawn version of the captured chart in ''A Voyage Round the World'', one of the best-selling books of its day. Anson's chart showed the Pacific to be relatively barren, but the three voyages of James Cook would add significant detail. The first recorded western visitor to Hawaii was
Captain James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...
on his third and final fatal voyage in the
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. Cook's ships first sighted Niihau and Kauai on January 19, 1778, and anchored near Waimea the following evening. As described by
James Jackson Jarves James Jackson Jarves (1818–1888) was an American newspaper editor, and art critic who is remembered above all as the first American art collector to buy Italian primitives and Old Masters. Life and career Jarves was the editor of an early we ...
in 1843, during the first visit "the natives manifested the greatest respect and kindness toward their visitors, and both parties indulged in a lucrative trade, yet he natives'propensity for thieving was continually manifested ... Theft or lying were to them no crimes. Success in either was a virtue, and it was not until several severe lessons, in regard to the enormity of the former had been received, that their discretion got the better of temptation." He went on to add "the commander manifested a laudable humanity, in endeavoring to shield the population from the evil effects which so inevitably result from connection between foreign seamen and the native females. But his efforts were vain. If the discipline of his own crew could have been strictly enforced, the eagerness of the women was not to be repressed." Cook's fleet departed on February 2, returning to Hawaii in November, when they began resupplying their ships and mapping the coastline. They anchored in Kealakekua Bay in January 1779, and stayed for 19 days; although they departed on February 6, they were forced to return for repairs on February 11. A series of misunderstandings would lead Cook to attempt to kidnap the
aliʻi nui The aliʻi were the traditional nobility of the Hawaiian islands. They were part of a hereditary line of rulers, the ''noho aliʻi''. The word ''aliʻi'' has a similar meaning in the Samoan language and other Polynesian languages, and in Māori ...
of the island of Hawaii,
Kalaniʻōpuʻu Kalaniōpuu-a-Kaiamamao (c. 1729 – April 1782) was the aliʻi nui (supreme monarch) of the island of Hawaiʻi. He was called ''Terreeoboo, King of Owhyhee'' by James Cook and other Europeans. His name has also been written as Kaleiopuu. Bio ...
, resulting in Cook's death.


19th century

Prominent 19th-century travelers to Hawaii included journalist
Isabella Bird Isabella Lucy Bird, married name Bishop (15 October 1831 – 7 October 1904), was a nineteenth-century British explorer, writer, photographer, and naturalist. With Fanny Jane Butler she founded the John Bishop Memorial Hospital in Srinagar ...
, along with a number of American and British authors. Tourist visits remained around 2,000 per year from 1872 to 1898. American writers include
Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
aboard the ''Ajax'' as a travel journalist with the ''
Sacramento Daily Union ''The Sacramento Union'' was a daily newspaper founded in 1851 in Sacramento, California. It was the oldest daily newspaper west of the Mississippi River before it closed its doors after 143 years in January 1994, no longer able to compete with ' ...
'' in 1866, and
Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...
, who deserted from his
whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...
in 1843 and later found passage back to the mainland that summer aboard . Twain's unfinished novel of Hawaii was incorporated into his ''
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court ''A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'' is an 1889 novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain. The book was originally titled ''A Yankee in King Arthur's Court''. Some early editions are titled ''A Yankee at the Court of King Arth ...
'', with King Arthur bearing striking similarities to
Kamehameha V Kamehameha V (Lota Kapuāiwa Kalanimakua Aliʻiōlani Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui; December 11, 1830 – December 11, 1872), reigned as the fifth monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipaʻa": i ...
, the first reigning monarch Twain was to meet. The "modernizing" potential offered by the Connecticut Yankee from the future is a satire of the potentially negative
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
Missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
influence on Hawaiian life. Melville's writing of the Pacific includes ''
Typee ''Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life'' is American writer Herman Melville's first book, published in 1846, when Melville was 26 years old. Considered a classic in travel and adventure literature, the narrative is based on Melville's experiences on ...
'' and '' Omoo'' (considered factual travel accounts when published) and his Pacific experiences would develop into the portrayal of
Queequeg Queequeg is a character in the 1851 novel ''Moby-Dick'' by American author Herman Melville. The son of a South Sea chieftain who left home to explore the world, Queequeg is the first principal character encountered by the narrator, Ishmael. T ...
in ''
Moby-Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler, whaling ship ''Pequod (Moby- ...
''. British writers include the Scot
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
, whose subsequent ''In the South Seas'' was published based on his voyages. During his stay in the islands, he wrote a stunning defense of
Father Damien Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai, SS.CC. or Saint Damien De Veuster ( nl, Pater Damiaan or '; 3 January 1840 – 15 April 1889), born Jozef De Veuster, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacr ...
's work with the lepers of
Kalaupapa Kalaupapa () is a small unincorporated community on the island of Molokai, within Kalawao County in the U.S. state of Hawaii. In 1866, during the reign of Kamehameha V, the Hawaii legislature passed a law that resulted in the designation ...
against the politicized views of Father Damien's Protestant detractors. Consequently, Hawaii is home to the eponymous Stevenson Middle School. Stevenson later died in
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
. Regular commercial passenger, cargo, and mail service to Hawaii via steamship started in 1870 with the North Pacific Transportation Company of Australia. The
Oceanic Steamship Company John Diedrich Spreckels (August 16, 1853 – June 7, 1926), the son of German-American industrialist Claus Spreckels, founded a transportation and real estate empire in San Diego, California, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The entrepr ...
was incorporated by John D. Spreckels, son of sugar baron
Claus Spreckels Adolph Claus J. Spreckels (July 9, 1828 – December 26, 1908) (his last name has also been misspelled as Spreckles) was a major industrialist in Hawai'i during the kingdom, republican and territorial periods of the islands' history. He also i ...
, on December 24, 1881 to establish a steamship line between San Francisco and Hawaii. Oceanic signed a contract in July 1882 with
William Cramp & Sons William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company (also known as William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Company) of Philadelphia was founded in 1830 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder of the late 19th century. Company hi ...
for two "first-class iron steamships" intended for the Honolulu route; these were completed in 1883 as the and . Spreckels traveled to the East Coast intending to contract for the building of two more steamships, but returned in March 1886 after having purchased and from John Elder & Company.
William Matson William Matson (born Wilhelm Mattson) (October 18, 1849 in Lysekil – October 11, 1917) was a Swedish-born American shipping executive. He was the founder of Matson Navigation Company. Early life Wilhelm Matson said he was born on October 18, 18 ...
had served as captain of Claus Spreckels's yacht (named ''Lurline'') and in turn, Spreckels helped Matson purchase his first ship, the (named for Spreckels's daughter), which made its first voyage to Hawaii in 1882. Matson would go on to found the
Matson Navigation Company Matson may refer to: * Matson (surname) *Matson, Gloucester, England, a suburb of Gloucester *Matson, Missouri, an unincorporated community * 2586 Matson, an asteroid * Matson, Inc., a shipping company, formerly Matson Navigation Company * Matson F ...
, whose genesis was in the first , purchased to replace the smaller ''Emma Claudina''; that first ''Lurline'' was sold to Matson by Spreckels and undertook a two-month maiden sail from San Francisco to Hawaii in 1887, marking the start of Matson's commercial passenger service to the Hawaiian Islands. 19th-century development in Hawaii played a big part in the increase of tourism that continued into the 21st century. In 1888, a writer for the ''
Los Angeles Herald The ''Los Angeles Herald'' or the ''Evening Herald'' was a newspaper published in Los Angeles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1873 by Charles A. Storke, the newspaper was acquired by William Randolph Hearst in 1931. It ...
'' extolled "culture, refinement, and a hospitality so cordial that one scarcely meets it elsewhere" joined with "the island air that is kept pure and sweet by the gentle trade winds' refreshing currents". Advanced technologies including cars, marketing, hotels, and shopping malls allow vacationers to visit a modernized tropical island, which contributes heavily to steady growth in tourism. Conversely, the Native Hawaiian population continues to decrease, resulting in a loss of authentic Hawaiian culture on the islands, similar to other Oceanian islands.


20th century

In 1907,
Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...
and his wife Charmian sailed to Hawaii, learning the "royal sport" of
surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...
and travelling by horseback to Haleakala and
Hana Hana or HANA may refer to: Places Europe * Haná, an ethnic region in Moravia, Czech Republic * Traianoupoli, Greece, called Hana during the Ottoman period * Hana, Norway, a borough in the city of Sandnes, Norway West Asia * Hana, Iran, a ci ...
, as chronicled in his book ''
The Cruise of the Snark ''The Cruise of the Snark'' (1911) is a non-fictional, illustrated book by Jack London chronicling his sailing adventure in 1907 across the south Pacific in his ketch the ''Snark''. Accompanying London on this voyage was his wife Charmian London ...
''. 1929 saw 22,000 tourists visit Hawaii, while the number of tourists exceeded 1 million for the first time in 1967.


Marine service

The second , completed in 1908, was the first steamship built for Matson; she was designed to accommodate passengers (51) in addition to cargo. Matson added , which made her maiden voyage from San Francisco to Honolulu in February 1910. Both of these ships were named after the daughters of prominent executives: Lurline Matson, daughter of founder William Matson; and Wilhelmina Tenney, daughter of Edward Davies Tenney, the chairman of
Castle & Cooke Castle & Cooke, Inc., is a Los Angeles-based company that was once part of the Big Five companies in territorial Hawaii. The company at one time did most of its business in agriculture, including becoming, through mergers with the modern Dole F ...
, the Honolulu agent for Matson. By 1913, Matson was building more passenger liners for the Honolulu run, and . Direct service from Hawaii to Los Angeles was established by ''Manoa'' in October 1914. Another Matson steamship, , sister to ''Matsonia'', was launched in 1916 at San Francisco, the largest passenger ship then constructed on the West Coast. However, Matson's Hawaiian routes were interrupted by World War I, as the government announced plans to requisition five ships in 1917; that was later reduced to three: ''Wilhelmina'', ''Matsonia'', and ''Maui'', which served as
troop transport A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...
s before they were released in 1919. ''Maui'' made 13 roundtrips to France, carrying 37,344 troops; ''Matsonia'', 14 roundtrips (38,974); and ''Wilhelmina'', 13 roundtrips (23,014). Growth in tourist travel followed World War I. Matson opened its eponymous headquarters on
Market Street Market Street may refer to: *Market Street, Cambridge, England *Market Street, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia * Market Street, George Town, Penang, Malaysia *Market Street, Manchester, England *Market Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia ...
in 1924, and conducted marine operations via berths and warehouses at Piers 30–32 in San Francisco; Castle & Cooke also moved into new offices in Honolulu at approximately the same time, and Matson ships docked at Aloha Pier, surrounding
Aloha Tower The Aloha Tower is a retired lighthouse that is considered one of the landmarks of the state of Hawaii in the United States. Opened on September 11, 1926, at a then astronomical cost of $160,000, the Aloha Tower is located at Pier 9 of Honolulu Ha ...
. Matson acquired the Oceanic Steamship operation in May 1926, extending its reach past Hawaii to Australia and New Zealand, and introduced the , the first of its four "White Fleet"
ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...
s for Hawaii service, in 1927; at the time, she was the largest passenger steamship built in the United States. ''Malolo'' was one part of a three-pronged effort devised by William P. Roth, the son-in-law of Captain Matson and Matson's general manager, and E.D. Tenney, named president of Matson after Matson's death in 1917, to develop the modern Hawaiian tourist industry; a luxury hotel (completed in 1927 as the Royal Hawaiian, in partnership with the Territorial Hotel Company) and golf course (
Waialae Country Club Waialae Country Club is a private country club in East Honolulu, Hawaii. Founded in 1927 and designed by Seth Raynor, it is a par 72 championship course at from the Championship tees. From the Members tees at , the course rating is 71.8 with a ...
) would also help transform Hawaii into a premier resort destination. However, ''Malolo'' had an inauspicious start to her career, colliding with the steamship in heavy fog during sea trials in May 1927; despite the delay to inaugurating modern ocean liner service, annual tourist traffic to Hawaii jumped from 17,500 (1927) to 22,000 (1929) until the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
started, cutting annual traffic to less than 11,000 tourists in 1932 and 1933. Matson would go on to build three sister ships to ''Malolo'', all completed in 1932: , , and a third . After ''Lurline'' completed her complicated maiden voyage from New York around the Pacific Ocean in early 1933 Matson established regular Honolulu service with the four ships. Two-week voyages were operated by ''Malolo'' ("clockwise" on a Los Angeles—Hawaii—San Francisco route) and ''Lurline'' ("counter-clockwise" on a San Francisco—Hawaii—Los Angeles route); the subsidiary Matson-Oceanic lines operated ''Mariposa'' and ''Monterey'' on longer four-week cruises from San Francisco and Los Angeles to Australia and New Zealand via Hawaii. Matson purchased the assets of the Territorial Hotel Company in 1932, giving cruise passengers disembarking in Honolulu a choice from three hotels: the Moana, the
Alexander Young Alexander Young may refer to: * Alexander Young (bishop) (died 1684), 17th century Scottish prelate *Alexander Young (engineer) (1833–1910), Scottish engineer and businessman who became a citizen of the Kingdom of Hawaii *Alexander Young (musicia ...
, or the Royal Hawaiian. In 1934, a planned 88-day Pacific cruise aboard ''Malolo'' was canceled after heavy demand for passenger service to Hawaii tied up all of Matson's available ships; by 1941, tourist traffic had rebounded past pre-Depression levels, with 31,000 tourists visiting Hawaii that year. ''Lurline'' was steaming from Honolulu to San Francisco during the
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
; she proceeded at full speed and returned to San Francisco on December 10. The United States's entry into World War II once again prompted the government to requisition Matson liners as troopships; all four "White Fleet" ships (''Lurline'', ''Mariposa'', ''Matsonia'' x-''Malolo''After was sold to the Alaska Packers' Association in 1937, was renamed ''Matsonia''. ''Matsonia'' (1913) served as a troopship in both World Wars: in WWI as ''Matsonia'' and WWII as ''Etolin''. and ''Monterey'') served along with the older ''Maui''. ''Maui'' accommodated 1,650 passengers after refit; ''Lurline'', 4,037; ''Matsonia'' (ex-''Malolo''), 2,976; ''Mariposa'', 4,272; and ''Monterey'' was used to carry war brides and dependents. In addition, Matson converted a number of cargo vessels to troopships and operated others. After the war, ''Matsonia'' (ex-''Malolo'') was the first to return to commercial service in May 1946, but she was laid up and sold in 1948 following the completion of the rebuild of ''Lurline''. When ''Lurline'' arrived in Honolulu on April 21, 1948 after her maiden voyage following the rebuild, she was adorned with the longest lei ever made, long using of orange
crêpe paper Crêpe paper is tissue paper that has been coated with sizing (a glue-like substance). It can then be creased in a way similar to party streamers to create gathers, giving it a crinkly texture like that of crêpe. This creasing process is called ...
. A rebuild of ''Mariposa'' and ''Monterey'' was also announced; the rebuild would have given each ship the capacity for 726 passengers (488 first class and 238 cabin class), served by 437 crew. However, the cost of the rebuild was higher than expected, and work was halted; both ships remained in the reserve fleets at Alameda and Suisun. ''Mariposa'' was sold in 1953 and ''Monterey'' was not repurchased by Matson until 1956; later that year a new (ex-''Pine Tree Mariner'') and (ex-''Free State Mariner''), both converted from cargo ships launched in 1952, entered service for Matson on their traditional California–Hawaii–Australia/New Zealand route. After ''Monterey'' (1932) was rebuilt at
Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...
, she was renamed ''Matsonia'' and alternated with ''Lurline'' on the Hawaii run starting from June 1957 until ''Lurline'' was sold in 1963. ''Matsonia'' (ex-''Monterey'') was renamed ''Lurline'' in December 1963 to carry on the name. The advent of jetliner travel, cutting the five-day voyage from California to Hawaii down to a matter of hours and reducing the cost of travel, decimated cruise passenger traffic; Matson exited the passenger business altogether in 1970 and sold its last White Fleet liner, ''Lurline'' (ex-''Matsonia'', ex-''Monterey'').


Air service

The
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
used two PN-9
seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...
s to attempt the first nonstop flight to Hawaii from mainland America in 1925; the aircraft, designated PN-9 Nos. 1 and 3, departed
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
on August 31 for Kahului, Maui. A third seaplane, the Boeing PB-1, was intended to join the other two, but it was scrubbed at the last minute. No. 3 was forced down by engine trouble approximately from San Francisco; it capsized while being towed back to
Mare Island Navy Yard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates t ...
for repairs. A tailwind that was predicted to aid the airplanes into the flight never materialized, and strong headwinds increased fuel consumption. No. 1 ran out of fuel approximately short of Hawaii as it was entering a squall. Commander
John Rodgers John Rodgers may refer to: Military * John Rodgers (1728–1791), colonel during the Revolutionary War and owner of Rodgers Tavern, Perryville, Maryland * John Rodgers (naval officer, born 1772), U.S. naval officer during the War of 1812, first ...
had intended to land No. 1 at the (a seaplane tender), one of the picket ships stationed along the flight path, to refuel and then continue the flight to Hawaii. However, the crew was unable to find ''Aroostook'' and landed after exhausting their fuel; they fashioned a fabric sail from the plane's lower wing and sailed towards Hawaii, averaging each day over the next nine days. The search for PN-9 No. 1 was called off by September 8, and the Navy began to prepare the PB-1 to re-attempt the nonstop flight to Hawaii. During its sail, the seaplane passed as close as from Oahu, then steered for Kauai, where they were finally spotted by the patrolling submarine off Nāwiliwili Bay. The submarine towed the PN-9 to the harbor, where they were greeted by the native population, 218 hours after being forced down. Succeeding where the Navy had failed, on June 29, 1927, Lieutenants
Lester Maitland Lester James Maitland (February 8, 1899 – March 27, 1990) was an aviation pioneer and career officer in the United States Army Air Forces and its predecessors. Maitland began his career as a Reserve pilot in the U.S. Army Air Service during W ...
and
Albert Hegenberger Albert Francis Hegenberger (September 30, 1895 – August 31, 1983) was a major general in the United States Air Force and a pioneering aviator who set a flight distance record with Lester J. Maitland, completing the first transpacific fligh ...
of the
United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...
landed at
Wheeler Field Wheeler Army Airfield , also known as Wheeler Field and formerly as Wheeler Air Force Base, is a United States Army post located in the City & County of Honolulu and in the Wahiawa District of the Island of O'ahu, Hawaii. It is a National His ...
following the first successful non-stop flight to Hawaii, piloting the
Fokker C-2 Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names. It was founded in 1912 in Berlin, Germany, and became famous for its fighter aircraft in World War I. In 1919 ...
''Bird of Paradise'' from Oakland to Honolulu. Rumors of a Hawaiian flight attempt had followed the crew across the country as he piloted the Fokker to the West Coast in mid-June; they denied the rumors, claiming it was a transcontinental test of the trimotor Fokker, as it was laden with the equivalent weight of 30 men. ''Bird of Paradise'' was flown to San Francisco on June 25 from San Diego to make final preparations for the Hawaii attempt, and the plane departed shortly after 7 AM on June 28 from Oakland Municipal Airport; a parallel competing attempt by a civilian pilot was scrubbed after the windshield was cracked. Maitland and Hegenberger returned to San Francisco aboard the Matson steamer ; ''Bird of Paradise'' remained in Hawaii to provide inter-island service. Inspired by
Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...
's successful
transatlantic flight A transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean from Europe, Africa, South Asia, or the Middle East to North America, Central America, or South America, or ''vice versa''. Such flights have been made by fixed-wing air ...
in April 1927, pineapple magnate
James Dole James Drummond Dole (September 27, 1877 – May 20, 1958), also known as the "Pineapple King", was an American industrialist who developed the pineapple industry in Hawaii. He established the Hawaiian Pineapple Company (HAPCO) which was later r ...
announced the
Dole Air Race The Dole Air Race, also known as the Dole Derby, was a deadly air race across the Pacific Ocean from Oakland, California to Honolulu in the Territory of Hawaii held in August 1927. There were eighteen official and unofficial entrants; fifteen of ...
in May 1927, which would award to the crew of the first airplane to complete a non-stop flight from
Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
to
Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...
, within a 12-month period starting in August 1927. Eight aircraft eventually flew in the Dole Air Race; however, only two aircraft completed the flight and ten people were killed in the attempt. The first commercial passenger aircraft service to the Hawaiian Islands from San Francisco commenced on October 21, 1936, with a once-weekly flight operated by
Pan American Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
aboard the
Martin M-130 The Martin M-130 was a commercial flying boat designed and built in 1935 by the Glenn L. Martin Company in Baltimore, Maryland, for Pan American Airways. Three were built: the ''China Clipper'', the ''Philippine Clipper'' and the ''Hawaii Clipp ...
Clipper; this first revenue service flight was taken by ''
Hawaii Clipper ''Hawaii Clipper'' was one of three Pan American Airways Martin M-130 flying boats. It disappeared with six passengers and nine crew ''en route'' from Guam to Manila, on July 28, 1938. Trans-Pacific service Pan American initiated trans-Pacific a ...
''. Pan Am introduced the larger
Boeing 314 The Boeing 314 Clipper was an American long-range flying boat produced by Boeing from 1938 to 1941. One of the largest aircraft of its time, it had the range to cross the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. For its wing, Boeing re-used the design fro ...
to the route in 1939; onboard accommodations included a lounge and sleeping berths. In 1944, the
Civil Aeronautics Board The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was an agency of the federal government of the United States, formed in 1938 and abolished in 1985, that regulated aviation services including scheduled passenger airline serviceStringer, David H."Non-Skeds: T ...
held hearings to break up the Pan Am monopoly on overseas flights from America and after World War II, other airlines were granted routes to Hawaii;
United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.
and
Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...
soon began service to Honolulu from major West Coast cities: San Francisco (United, 1947), Los Angeles (United, 1950), Seattle (Northwest, 1949), and Portland (Northwest, 1949).


21st century

Widespread
fear of flying Fear of flying is a fear of being on an airplane, or other flying vehicle, such as a helicopter, while in flight. It is also referred to as flying anxiety, flying phobia, flight phobia, aviophobia, aerophobia, or pteromechanophobia (although ae ...
after the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
greatly reduced tourism in Hawaii. The ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' wrote in March 2002 that "at the
Polynesian Cultural Center The Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC) is a family-centered cultural tourist attraction and living museum located in Laie, on the northern shore of Oahu, Hawaii. The PCC is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), was ...
... the barefoot guides seemed to outnumber visitors". Although 2006 and 2007 saw a big increase of tourism, it soon took a turn for the worse when Hawaii's economy plummeted, but later recovered. Tourism officials said several factors have kept sightseers away: Two major airlines and two cruise ships stopped operating in the Aloha State, reducing options for visitors, high fuel prices last summer deterred travel, then recessions in Japan and the U.S., as well as California's economic meltdown, slowed the flow of tourists. In 2007, Japanese tourists on average used to spend more money than American tourists; because of this, tourism-related businesses in Hawaii used to value Japanese customers. However this has all changed with the collapse of the value of the yen and the Japanese economy. The average Japanese tourist now stays only 5 days, while the average East Asian tourist from China or Korea stays more than 9.5 days and spends 25% more. Hawaii has been seeing increased numbers of visitors from South Korea and China. In 2011, Hawaii saw increasing arrivals and share of foreign tourists from Canada, Australia and China increasing 13%, 24% and 21% respectively from 2010. In 2014 a record 8.3 million visitors arrived to Hawaii (39.4% from the U.S. West, 20.8% from the U.S. East, 18.3% from Japan, 6.3% from Canada, 15.2% others), spending $14.7 billion. The amount increased to 9.4 million visitors spending over $16 billion in 2017.


Impacts of tourism in Hawaii


Economic

As Hawaii changed from a Kingdom to a Territory to a State, so too did the dominant industries change. Being a primarily agricultural land, producing around 80 percent of the world's pineapples in the 1960s, the addition of
Pan Am Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
’s flight route to Hawaii rapidly increased the number of visitors going to the islands. The years following statehood led to more than double the number of passengers arriving at Honolulu airport. As this trend continues to increase, Hawaii's economy has become heavily dependent on the tourism industry. Although the economy has seen significant growth with the addition of this industry, some researchers believe this will leave Hawaii susceptible to external economic forces. Some examples of these are an
economic recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...
, airline strikes, or varying fuel prices which could devastate the local economy. The devastating national economic recession of 2008, hit Hawaii's tourism industry hard. In 2008, hotel occupancy dropped to 60 percent, a level not seen since the terrorist attacks in 2001. As the economy has returned to normal levels, the tourism industry has continued to grow in Hawaii with the majority of tourists visiting
Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...
,
Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...
,
Kauai Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...
and the big island of Hawaii. Job creation is another benefit of tourism to the islands. In 2017, reports say 204,000 jobs were related to tourism. This led to $16.78 billion in visitor spending with $1.96 billion generated in tax revenue in that year alone. Resorts and the airline business are the primary benefactors of this increase in tourism.


Environmental

The Sustainable Tourism Association of Hawaii (formerly the Hawaii Ecotourism Association) was founded in 1995 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to nurture the development of sustainable tourism in Hawaii. It offers a certification program to educate and recognize conservation-minded tour operators in Hawaii, the only such certification program of its kind in America. The long term environmental implications that Hawaii is facing due to mass tourism has raised concern. To combat this and help raise awareness, international environmental organizations have joined forces with local island communities. There are major benefits to this type of management, usually described as "values-led management". By prioritizing the values and existing sustainable practices by local communities living on heavily visited islands, it preserves their interests and further respects their culture.


Water

Hotels are often placed near beaches, in areas with little
rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
fall, and guests use of water per person. Another study concluded that on average, a single guest uses approximately of water per day, divided approximately half between accommodations (laundry and sewer) and golf courses (irrigation).&nbs
direct URL
/ref> This is significantly more than the average resident and has led to a number of
drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D.  Jiang, A.  Khan, W.  Pokam Mba, D.  Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
s throughout the islands.


Landscape

The number of hotel rooms from 1985 to 2010 nearly doubled from 65,000 to 132,000 rooms. Tourists visit destinations with developed infrastructure, groomed activities and pristine conditions, which boosts the economy and finances needed to uphold these facilities. On the other hand, the very creation of these institutions degrades the environmental factors tourists are drawn to. Having perfect conditions requires an amount of upkeep fueled by the revenue of the visitors but the visitors also degrade the environment at a faster rate than residents alone. A direct effect of the increase in infrastructure is the depletion of the natural landscape. As buildings are constructed the amount of natural land becomes smaller and smaller. As hotels are constructed in prime real estate the environmental problems created are not weighed equally with the potential upside of profit. The government sees the creation of jobs and the increase in visitor spending in the state as a good thing. Those are quantitative variables that can be directly measured in terms of dollars and number of jobs. However, the impact to the environment or the
indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
people is harder to measure in term of absolutes. Hawaii only holds 0.2 percent of the United States land but has a 72.1 percent extinction rate, and more than half of the natural communities in the islands are endangered by developments. An example of this is natural ponds being destroyed during construction of large buildings which were previously home to migrating birds. The ponds are no longer there, which throws off the natural flow of the
ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
. Another staggering statistic says that nearly 60 percent of the plant and animal species in Hawaii are endangered. This includes the loss of habitats for animals and the diverse
flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...
that gives Hawaii its beauty being degraded at an alarming rate.


Energy

Hawaii has traditionally relied on fossil fuel-fired thermal power plants for its electricity generation, although it has set a statewide goal of achieving 100% of electric generation via renewable sources by 2045; as a result, the average guest uses the equivalent of of oil per day, approximately of which is consumed by rental car operation. For electricity alone, the average guest uses 23.9 to 33.6 kW-hr per day.


Refuse

The beaches in Hawaii are becoming increasingly filled with trash, especially plastics. This becomes a problem not only environmentally, but also could have a negative impact on the economy as visitors come for the sandy beaches and pollutants such as trash or plastics decrease the appeal of Hawaii as a vacation destination.
Kamilo Beach Kamilo Beach (literally, ''the twisting'' or ''swirling currents''Clark, John R. K. (1985), ''Beaches of the Big Island'', University of Hawaii Press, , p. 69 in Hawaiian), is a beach located on the southeast coast of the island of Hawaii. It is ...
on the southeastern tip of the island of Hawaii has acquired the nickname "Plastic Beach" for its accumulation of plastic trash, much of it borne via ocean currents and trade winds from the nearby Great Pacific garbage patch. It is estimated that of trash, 96% of which is plastic, washes ashore here annually. The average guest generates approximately of waste per day. In order to reduce the generation of plastic waste, Hawaii has begun to ban the use of single-use plastic and polystyrene foam on a county-by-county approach. A ban on polystyrene foam containers took effect in Maui County on December 31, 2018; a similar ban started in Hawaii County (the Big Island) on July 1, 2019. Oahu's ban on single-use plastic and polystyrene will take effect on January 1, 2021. Two bills were considered by the Hawaii State Legislature in early 2019, which would have been the first state-wide bans on food service plastics in America. SB367 would ban the use of polystrene foam food containers statewide; that bill died in committee in March 2019. SB522 would ban single-use plastic beverage bottles, utensils, stirring sticks, polystyrene foam containers, and straws starting in 2021; that bill was modified in committee to create a working group to make recommendations on how to reduce plastic waste instead.


Social effect

Some Native Hawaiians believe strongly in the independence of Hawaii and the
Hawaiian sovereignty movement The Hawaiian sovereignty movement ( haw, ke ea Hawaiʻi), is a grassroots political and cultural campaign to re-establish an autonomous or independent nation or kingdom of Hawaii due to desire for sovereignty, self-determination, and self-gove ...
. The creation of this
grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...
organization leads to a negative view towards visitors and the disruption of the natural land. This leads to a strong contention between developers and natives who believe the land should not be transformed into a commercial or residential development. Many of these individuals are reliant on the land as a means of living. The loss of the environment affects the socio-psychological well-being of those reliant on land and marine resources. Native Hawaiians and residents alike become limited in job opportunities with a heavily skewed job-base in the tourism industry. The essay "Lovely Hula Lands" (later republished as "Lovely Hula Hands") by native Hawaiian academic and activist
Haunani-Kay Trask Haunani-Kay Trask (October 3, 1949 – July 3, 2021) was a Native Hawaiian activist, educator, author, and poet. She served as leader of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement and was professor emeritus at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She w ...
is severely critical of the huge influx of tourists to Hawaii, which she terms a "
prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
" of Hawaiian culture. She ends her essay with "let me just leave this thought behind. If you are thinking of visiting my homeland, please don't. We don't want or need any more tourists, and we certainly don't like them." However, the
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...
(SPLC) has condemned Trask for her anti-American statements, stating that such vitriol helps fuel racism in Hawaiʻi.


See also

* List of National Historic Landmarks in Hawaiʻi *
Golf Clubs and Courses in Hawaii There are 75 golf courses in Hawaii. Oahu Oahu has 37 golf clubs: Public *Bay View G.C., Kaneohe ''(Par 60)'' – ''Open for night play weeknights'' *Coral Creek G.C. *Ewa Beach G.C. *Hawaii Country Club, Wahiawa *Hawaii Kai G.C. (Championship ...


References


External links


Hawaii State DBEDT
– the state's Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism provides resources and statistics to promote tourism
Hawaii Visitors & Convention Bureau
– information for tourists and business travelers
Maui Visitors Bureau
– visitors information for Maui
Kauai Visitors Information
– visitor information for Kauai
Lānai Visitors Bureau
– travel information for Lānai ;Mark Twain's correspondence to the ''Sacramento Daily Union'', 1866 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Hawaii
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...