Like many other tourism-reliant destinations, Hawaii has been taking a break during the pandemic to assess the damage that overtourism brings. A new survey of residents has found strong support for imposing controls over the number of tourists allowed at popular destinations across the state.
"The big lesson here is that people want the state to be directly involved in managing tourism," said Colin Moore, Director of the University of Hawaii Public Policy Center, which commissioned the survey.
More than half polled said they would like to put a cap on the number of visitors while 78% would like visitors to be charged entry fees or are required to make reservations at popular hot spots at peak times.
