Lugani 1

Noah Lugani

Dr. Clark

ENGW 1111

04 October 2021

The Gathering Place

Oahu’s nickname “The Gathering Place” has never been more fitting than in the summer

of 2021. As Hawaii reduced its COVID travel restrictions and everyone searched for a new

experience after a monotonous past year, Oahu seemed to present itself as the perfect summer get

away for just about everyone. Nowhere was this more evident than in downtown Honolulu.

Hordes of tourists paraded down the street from their absurdly overbooked Hotels to Waikiki

Beach. Lines were out the door for most restaurants with some more famous ones such as Dukes

and Hula Grill having over three hour wait times. Even on the other side of the island, roads were

backed up for miles, as tourists determined to see green sea turtles, painstakingly searched for

parking. To say the least Hawaii was packed. And with tourism widely known as the dominant

industry in Hawaii, most people would think that locals of Hawaii would be elated to have so

many visitors. However, it would be ignorant to make such a straightforward statement as it

doesn’t consider the cultural and environmental impacts of such over tourism. Over the years

tourism in Hawaii has brought with it overdevelopment and the destruction of Hawaii’s natural

beauty. So, while most tourists are captivated by designer stores like Louis Vuitton and Gucci or

the newly established contemporary high rises that now crowd Ala Moana, most locals only see

the remanence of what once was and the further harm that is to come if Hawaii continues down

this path.
Lugani 2

US troops stand in front of Iolani Palace during the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani (Bishop Museum).

This commercialization of Hawaii is by no means new. The current over tourism and

construction in Hawaii are only the most recent developments in a much larger history of

imperialism and colonization. Beginning in 1840, with the establishment of the Kōloa sugarcane

plantation, many Americans began looking at Hawaii as a major source for profit. Over time

sugar developed into Hawaii’s biggest commercial industry and put wealthy planters and

businessmen, such as Sanford B. Dole, in a strong position to influence the Hawaiian monarchy

(“History of Labor in Hawai’i” & “History, Art, and Archives”). Leveraging their power, many

businessmen and lawyers such as Dole and Lorrin Thurston began secretly discussing plans to

overthrow the monarchy and annex Hawaii (“History, Art, and Archives”). On January 15, 1893

the annexationists backed by American troops began the coup, imprisoning Queen Liliuokalani

until she agreed to surrender (“History, Art, and Archives”). Unable to combat the many

American troops, Queen Liliuokalani peacefully surrendered, bringing an end to the Hawaiian

monarchy (“History, Art, and Archives”).

Lugani 3

Opponents of Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s development plans protest along Kalanianiole highway (Cory Lum).

To this day, almost 130 years later, many locals of Hawaii continue to feel this loss of

control. While sugarcane plantation owners no longer hold the power they used to, locals are

now hindered by growing hotel and development companies that encroach on native Hawaiian

communities and demolish the environment. These sentiments are strongly felt in the Waimanalo

community on the west coast of Oahu. Upon arriving, visitors are likely to be shocked by the

hundreds of tents that line Waimanalo Beach Park. These tents are home to many natives of the

Waimanalo community and some from other communities on the island that have found refuge at

“The Line”, as the encampment is known (Le Jeune; Consillio). Here, those who have fallen

victim to Hawaii’s longstanding generational poverty are able to get “food, supplies and services

like washing their clothes” from the “local church groups and nearby residents” (Le Jeune).

However, this safe haven that homeless and other Waimanalo locals have worked so hard to

protect, was in danger just last year, when Honolulu’s Mayor Kirk Caldwell pursued plans for

building an athletic complex and recreation area (Downey). The plans have since stopped, but
Lugani 4

the sentiments expressed by residents of the community and the Save Our Sherwoods (SOS)

movement reflect the growing opposition towards these development efforts. In an interview

with Honolulu Civil Beat, protest leader Kuike Kamakea-Ohelo best asserted these views stating,

“for way too long we allowed development to push us out… We can’t allow them to erase us

from history” (Downey).

Summer beach goers gather at Waikiki beach (Cindy E. Russel).

This overdevelopment continues to be mainly funded by Hawaii’s dependence on the

tourism industry. With tourism now being “the largest single source of private capital for

Hawaii’s economy”, many government officials are heavily influenced by the wants of these

tourists and the businesses that they go to “Fact Sheet: ...”. As a result, many of the voices

protesting construction projects such as Mayor Caldwell’s Waimanalo Beach Park plan and

advocating for tourism regulation simply end up as background noise. For many locals this past

summer of 2021 brought these issues to a head. As Hawaii reopened its gates in an effort to

repair the economic damage done by COVID’s travel restrictions, many locals became worried

about the likelihood of a surge in cases (Delkic). Their worries proved valid as thousands of
Lugani 5

tourists began “crowding popular beaches without wearing masks” and some even “trying to pay

a bribe to avoid the testing requirement”. This irritated many residents and only fueled

previously held negative attitudes about tourism. “Hawaiians and locals alike have always seen

the disrespect that tourists bring to our islands,” said Palakiko Chandler, an Oahu Resident and

Native Hawaiian (Delkic). “This is kind of the last straw. You’re coming to our home and you’re

endangering us during a pandemic” (Delkic). By July COVID cases began accelerating again and

on August 23 Governor David Ige announced that Hawaii’s hospitals were “reaching capacity

and ICUs [were] filling up” (“GOVERNOR DAVID IGE…”). Unable to withstand the economic

toll of another complete travel ban, Governor Ige kept Hawaii’s gates open throughout the entire

process and in doing so highlighted just how unhealthy Hawaii’s dependence on tourism is.

Since then, the number of new cases has steadily declined (“Hawaii COVID-19 map…”);

however, if this summer showed us anything, it is likely there will soon be another surge as more

mainland travelers arrive in Hawaii for the holidays.

Tourism this way is simply unsustainable. If Hawaii isn’t able to transition towards other

industries or make some major reforms of the current tourist industry it will only see more

conflict with the Native Hawaiian community, environmental degradation, and severe economic

downturns. Hawaii certainly isn’t the only place that has struggled with tourism. Several other

islands such as Palau, the Maldives, and New Zealand have also become playgrounds for

tourists. However, many of them have found some viable solutions, such as “limiting the number

of visitors at tourist sites” and electric jet boats that minimize noise pollution, that could provide

Hawaii with a good starting point on the path to sustainable tourism (Khalil). Hawaii has long

talked about making major reforms to the tourist industry without implementing much action.

Hopefully, the events of this summer have shown the government just how dire these changes
Lugani 6

are and we will soon some regulations put in place. Until then, then locals will only continue to

see the old, the true Hawaii “erase[d]… from history.”

Lugani 7

Works Cited

Bishop Museum. (2018, January 8). Overthrow observance to shadow legislature's Opening
Day. Honolulu Star Advertiser. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2018/01/08/hawaii-news/overthrow-observance-to-
shadow-legislatures-opening-day/.

Consillio, K. (2021, June 14). Leader of waimanalo homeless encampment requires covid-19
shots. KITV Channel 4. Retrieved October 26, 2021, from
https://www.kitv.com/story/44094877/matriarch-of-waimanalo-homeless-encampment-
requires-covid19-shots.

Chandler, P., & Delkic, M. (2021, March 29). 'There's just a sense of entitlement': Hawaiians
worry about a flood of heedless tourists. The New York Times. Retrieved October 26,
2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/29/us/Hawaii-tourists-covid.html.

Hawaii Tourism Authority. (2021, August 23). GOVERNOR DAVID IGE URGES RESIDENTS,
VISITORS TO CURTAIL NON-ESSENTIAL TRAVEL THROUGH END OF OCTOBER.
Hawaii Tourism Authority. Retrieved October 28, 2021, from
https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/covid-19-updates/.

Hawaii Tourism Authority. (n.d.). Fact sheet: Benefits of Hawaii's tourism economy. Hawaii
Tourism Authority. Retrieved October 26, 2021, from
https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/media/4167/hta-tourism-econ-impact-fact-sheet-
december-2019.pdf.

History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Historian, Asian and
Pacific Islander Americans in Congress, 1900–2017. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government
Publishing Office, 2018. “Hawaii,” https://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-
Publications/APA/Historical-Essays/Exclusion-and-Empire/Hawaii/ (October 08, 2021)

History of Labor in Hawai'i, Center for Labor Education and Research,

https://www.hawaii.edu/uhwo/clear/home/HawaiiLaborHistory.html.

Kamakea-Ohelo, K., & Downey, K. (2019, September 28). Waimanalo Park opponents are
settling in for a long fight. Honolulu Civil Beat. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from
https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/09/waimanalo-park-opponents-are-settling-in-for-a-long-
fight/.

Khalil, S. (2021, May 13). Can New Zealand's tourism industry make a sustainable return? BBC
News. Retrieved October 26, 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56967636.

Le Jeune, A. (2017, November 7). Waimanalo tent-dwellers: A different kind of homelessness.

Honolulu Civil Beat. Retrieved October 24, 2021, from
Lugani 8

https://www.civilbeat.org/2017/11/waimanalo-tent-dwellers-a-different-kind-of-
homelessness/.

Lum, Cory. (2019, September 23). Waimanalo sports field protest flares again. Honolulu Civil
Beat. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/09/waimanalo-
sports-field-protest-flares-again/.

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (n.d.). Hawaii covid-19 map: Tracking
the trends. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved October 26, 2021, from
https://www.mayoclinic.org/coronavirus-covid-19/map/hawaii.

Russel, Cindy E. (2021, July 30). Hawaii Tourism Authority approves plan to reduce Oahu
Tourists. Honolulu Star Advertiser. Retrieved October 25, 2021, from
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2021/07/30/hawaii-news/hawaii-tourism-authority-
approves-plan-to-reduce-oahu-tourists/.