Domestic visitors are eager to pay for sustainable experiences

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

For assisting Hawaii’s tourism industry recuperate from the COVID-19 pandemic, new research from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa suggests a potentially under-utilized form of revenue which visitors areeager to pay for: sustainable experiences.

These include activities that few visitor industry destinations are already offering, such as clearing plastics off beaches and planting trees to balance carbon footprint. According to study co-author and School of Travel Industry Management (TIM School) Professor Jerry Agrusa, the research findings could present sustainable experiences and generate more jobs for Hawaii’s workforce.

Agrusa said,“With these new initiatives, there are opportunities for new positions. I know there are a number of hotels that started adding in Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners and now also some are adding in sustainable practitioners—not just a one-time to come in and evaluate how they can be more sustainable, but also to be more engaged with the tourists.”

Agrusa added, “The tourists believe that the application of sustainability to the tourism sector is vital to the future of Hawaiʻi and by having more sustainable activities, it presents a concrete way to meet some of the needs of the present tourists without compromising the ability of future generations to enjoy these tourism products.”

U.S. domestic visitors to Hawaii accounted for more than 93% of all visitors by air in December 2021 (PDF), according to the State of Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

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