Hawaii Tourism Authority and DBEDT release results of resident sentiment survey
By Marisa Yamane
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HONOLULU, Hawaii (KITV) — Overcrowding, damage to the environment, high prices/higher cost of living, and traffic problems continue to be the most concerning issues when it comes to tourism in Hawaii.
The Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) released the results of its Spring 2022 Resident Sentiment Survey during the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s monthly board meeting on Thursday.
The survey was conducted between May 7 and July 30, and a total of 1955 Hawaii residents participated — 839 on Oahu, 458 on Hawaii Island, 403 in Maui County, and 255 on Kauai.
DBEDT’s latest visitor statistics show that 842,927 people visited Hawaii in June, which was the second highest visitor count since January 2020.
According to the survey, when asked what problems they think tourism has created in Hawaii, overcrowding was the number one problem for Maui County residents at 75%, Oahu residents at 72%, and Kauai residents at 71%. The leading problem for Hawaii Island residents was high prices/higher cost of living.
Despite the concerning issues, 54% of respondents said that tourism has brought more benefits than problems, which is up from the 49% in the Fall of 2021, but on par with Spring of 2021 (53%) and 2020 (54%).
The survey also found that residents expressed strong support for using Hawaii’s tax dollars to manage tourism and less so to encourage tourism.
For more on the survey’s results, go to: hawaiitourismauthority.org/media/9742/07-dbedt-resident-sentiment-spring-2022-hta-board-presentation.pdf
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