‘A small price to pay to preserve paradise’: Hawaii wants to charge tourists a €23 climate fee

20.02.2024 - 23:35 / euronews.com / Josh Green / Saskia ODonoghue

Hawaii has long been a ‘bucket list’ destination for travellers the world over - but it’s also well known for having suffered from overtourism in recent years.

Back in 2022, the island state in the Pacific begged visitors to stop coming in such huge numbers, saying thousands of tourists - especially from the US - were making the islands’ roads, beaches and restaurants practically unusable, especially for locals.

That cry appeared to fall on deaf ears, especially since the first TV series of The White Lotus shone even more light on the tropical state as a desirable destination.

Enough is now enough for Hawaii’s leaders. Governor Josh Green has introduced a bill which would impose a $25 (about €23) so-called 'climate fee' on all tourists visiting.

If it successfully passes through committee in the state's legislature, the fee would, according to politicians, be imposed on all travellers upon check-in at hotels or holiday rentals - and is projected to raise around $68 million (€63m) annually, with proceeds used to protect the state's beaches and prevent wildfires.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Green explained: “It's a very small price to pay to preserve paradise”, adding that the tax would help to fund disaster insurance for residents as well as new fire breaks to protect vulnerable communities.

Hawaii is home to just over 1.4 million residents - but, last year, 9.5 million visitors arrived for its pristine beaches, like Kailua and Waikiki.

It’s estimated that tourism brings in around $16 billion (€14.8bn) annually but the nature and infrastructure on the islands suffers..

In 2021, all fully-vaccinated travellers coming from the US were welcomed to Hawaii, allowed to visit without pre-flight testing or quarantine conditions.

However, the state wasn’t prepared for the influx, with highly congested roads, hospitality worker shortages and long restaurant queues.

Some tourists were also seen to disrespect local wildlife, with social media videos emerging of multiple people touching endangered Hawaiian monk seals as well hiking on forbidden trails like Diamond Head. That destination has since been forced to implement a reservation-only booking system to curb visitor numbers.

At the time, Maui’s mayor reached out to airlines to try to get them to help assist the suffering Hawaii by limiting the number of incoming flights arriving there.

“We’re asking for just a pause, if you want to use that term,” Mayor Mike Victorino said, adding, “we don’t have the authority to say ‘stop,’ but we’re asking the powers that be to help us in this sense.”

Residents on Victorino’s island of Maui spoke out, too, with many left shocked following news of a water shortage which saw them possibly fined some $500 (€463) for washing their