Tourism in the News

Will Shark Attacks Take a Bite Out of

Hawaiis Tourism?

Lindsey Nadal
Rec 462
4/3/14

Hawaii has always been a favorite tourist destination. With paradise just a plane ride
away, tourists have been visiting and exploring the Hawaiian Islands for years. Hawaii is known
worldwide for its beautiful beaches. The islands have every type of beach imaginable and people
love to visit these beaches for the incredible surf and underwater activities. Hotels and Resorts
and many other businesses benefit from all types of tourist spending in this primary location! But
unfortunately after an increase for the second year in a row in unprovoked shark attacks, there
has been a change in tourism in Hawaii. With fewer tourists in Hawaii, that brings a huge
concern to those in the industry. A tourist seeks various psychic and physical experiences and
satisfactions. The nature of these will largely determine the destinations chosen and the activities
enjoyed (Goeldner and Brent Ritchie, 2012, p. 3). With more shark encounters in Hawaii,
tourists are more alarmed which is greatly affecting tourism and the economy. People are less
likely to enjoy the beautiful beaches and exciting underwater activities Hawaii has to offer.
According to the article, there were 14 unprovoked shark attacks across Hawaii in 2013.
This is far more than recorded in previous years. Because of this it has led to people encouraging
awareness of the possible attacks in Hawaii. Eight of the noted shark attacks took place in Maui.
Four of them were off the coast of the Big Island. Then one shark attack happened in Kaua`i and
in Oahu. The incidents resulted in two fatalities. These were deaths of tourists. One was a
snorkeler from Germany and the other was a fisherman from Washington. Tourists explained
their fear of the water after learning of the shark attack on these tourists. According to
abcnews.com, a spokesperson for Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas stated, "Ocean safety in
every regard is important to us. The resort makes beach guides readily available, as well as
printing updated ocean conditions daily, which are placed in strategic places for our guests to
reference (Will Shark Attacks Take a Bite Out of Hawaii Tourism? 2014, para. 6).

A professional understanding of the consumer is at the core of successful business

practice in the tourist industry (Goeldner and Brent Ritchie, 2012, p. 197). Data shows that
there has been a decline in Hawaii tourism. This may be because of a lack of knowledge and full
understanding of the consumer and travel motivation. Data through October 2013 from the
Hawaiian Tourism Authority shows a decrease in spending in the tourism industry entering the
fourth quarter of the year. It is not clear that this is mostly due to the increase of shark attacks,
but water-related businesses have seen less tourist spending in the past couple years. According
to abcnews.com, October 2013 was the second month that total visitor expenditures (-2.6
percent to $1.1 billion) and visitor arrivals (-1.6 percent to 636,245 visitors) to Hawai'i were less
than the previous year, according to preliminary statistics released by the Hawai'i Tourism
Authority. Hawai'i also witnessed slower growth in visitor arrivals since July 2013. (Will Shark
Attacks Take a Bite Out of Hawaii Tourism? 2014, para. 9).
Many different types of business within the tourism industry are being affected.
Snorkeling and surfing lessons are two popular activities that have been involved in repeated
attacks over the last two years. Most people come to Hawaii to enjoy these underwater activities
and more. This is where a lot of tourist spending takes place other than hotels and resorts.
Tourists will now be provided information and safety tips for such activities. This will more than
likely affect many businesses in Hawaii. A way to fully comprehend the effects on businesses
and the tourism industry is taking psychological approaches of tourism into consideration.
Psychological approaches to tourism are evident in a large number of tourism studies, including
those by researchers who are not themselves psychologists Sometimes attempts to get inside
the heads of tourists rely heavily on inference and speculation rather than interviews, etc.
(Wyllie, 2011, p. 9) There is not secure evidence on the reason for these increased attacks, but

whatever the reason, the effect is the same. Tourists have been becoming more aware of this
issue and this fear of shark attacks may be why fewer tourists have been coming to Hawaii in
these past couple of years.
It is clear that Hawaii will always be a tourist spot, but these incidents have been
affecting the industry in Hawaii. There are also fewer tourists getting in the water which is
overall hurting ocean recreation businesses. It is unclear whether there will be more or less shark
attacks in Hawaiis future. But if more attacks occur in the next couple of years, Hawaii will see
a change and will need to find a way to keep people satisfied with their tourist experience
without fully being in the ocean. Tourist professionals and those in the industry should prepare
for whatever accommodations are necessary to keep tourists coming to Hawaii and enjoying
their stay in paradise!

Works Cited
Goeldner, C.R. & Brent Ritchie, J.R. (2012). Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies (12th
ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Wylie, R. W. (2011). An Introduction to Tourism. State College, PA: Venture Publishing.
Article: http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/shark-attacks-bite-hawaii-tourism/story?id=21417074