Ecotourism in Hawaiʻi

In Hawaiʻi, ecotourism means supporting the natural places you visit: paying the fee that maintains a trail, learning why a reef or a fishpond matters, or spending half a day pulling invasive plants or cleaning a beach. Every island has a way to take part, and most cost little or nothing.

Many Hawaiʻi hotels run a Mālama Hawaiʻi program: do a half-day volunteer activity such as a beach cleanup or fishpond work, and the hotel gives you a discounted rate or a free night.

What ecotourism is, and what it looks like in Hawaiʻi

Generally, ecotourism refers to the idea of experiencing a destination through its natural environments. Visitors support these environments through financial contributions (entrance fees, donations, etc.), educational experiences, or volunteer efforts. The goal is to create a sustainable cycle in which natural areas are supported, maintained, and protected by the tourism industry instead of being destroyed by it.

Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

Visiting a national park, or even spending a day on the beach, are forms of ecotourism. Costa Rica has based its entire national tourism industry around ecotourism, creating an infrastructure and tourism offerings that show off and support its natural areas.

Ecotourism in Hawaiʻi

In Hawaiʻi that ranges from guided hikes with for-profit companies to invasive species removal days with non-profits.

Back in 2018, the State of Hawaiʻi officially defined its own sustainability goals that they wished to achieve by 2050.  They were to create a Hawaiʻi that achieves the following:

1. Respects the culture, character, beauty, and history of our state’s island communities;
2. Strikes balance among economic, social and community, and environmental priorities; and
3. Meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Though not specifically stated, much of this meets the goals of ecotourism, balancing economic gains with environmental and social priorities, and ensuring things are preserved for the future. The number of ecotourism offerings in Hawaiʻi has grown over the past decade.

For example, the Mālama Hawaiʻi campaign has grown quickly in recent years, with tour operators, hotels, and local non-profits alike encouraging visitors to get involved with the islands’ natural environments. Many programs in Hawaiʻi go beyond a beach day or a hike, asking visitors to give back and pair their vacation with a volunteer day.

The Benefits of Ecotourism for Hawaiʻi

Hawaiʻi gets protected places and steadier visitor income from ecotourism. Visitors get hotel discounts and a day working alongside residents.

Benefits for Hawaiʻi

A tourism industry that supports natural environments is bound to protect them for future generations. In this way, ecotourism helps to balance economic gain with the protection of the environment. For example, many places around Hawaiʻi have set visitation limits and installed permit systems to protect the natural environment from overuse, ensuring their continued health and well-being in the future (and thus, continued financial gain from visitation).

Local populations in destinations often support ecotourism because of the types of travelers it attracts. People drawn to ecotourism want to connect with the place they are visiting, and tend to be aware of their impact. When they give back, locals begin to see the positive presence visitors can have.

Benefits for visitors

Hawaiʻi has diverse and unique natural environments, from volcanic landscapes to sandy beaches to craggy mountain tops. Most people participate in ecotourism without even realizing it simply by engaging with these landscapes when they visit, going on a hike or spending a day at the beach.

Beach cleanups and invasive-species removal put you alongside local residents and build a deeper connection with the land.

The memories of volunteer events such as beach cleanups and invasive-species removals tend to last longer because they are so novel. They also let you make a connection to other often local participants that you otherwise would have missed.

Ways to engage in ecotourism and voluntourism while on Hawaiʻi

Many hotels in Hawaiʻi are now offering discounted rates or even a free night if you take part in an ecotourism volunteer opportunity.

The Mālama Hawaiʻi Campaign

As part of the Mālama Hawaiʻi program, hotels advertise special rates and discounts for those that participate in local volunteer opportunities, most of which involve some form of ecotourism. The hotel lists a “Mālama Hawaiʻi” package on its website that lets you choose a give-back activity and, in return, receive special rates or extra perks. When booking your hotel in Hawaiʻi, ask about ecotourism and voluntourism opportunities.

Example: the Kualoa Grown Tour on Oʻahu

One Mālama Hawaiʻi activity is the Kualoa Grown Tour at Kualoa Ranch on Oʻahu. During this hands-on 1.5-hour farm tour you learn about how important kalo (taro) is to the Hawaiian people, both as a food source and as a cultural anchor tied to Kualoa. Depending on need, activities can include thatching of traditional Hawaiian hale (houses) … assisting with cleaning, planting, harvesting kalo … or stewardship of the māla lāʻau lapaʻau (Hawaiian medicinal plant garden). Book the Kualoa Grown Tour through Kualoa Ranch.

Volunteer for nonprofits

You can also volunteer with no hotel discount attached. Spend some time clearing invasive species at the Heʻeia Fishpond in Kaneʻohe, or participate in one of the many local beach cleanups.

Our guide to volunteering on the Big Island lists the Big Island organizations that take visitor volunteers..

The Pono Pledge (Big Island)

The Pono Pledge goes beyond ecotourism into responsible travel in general. It asks visitors to consider their behavior when on island and tells them how to conduct themselves. Part of this is pledging to protect and respect Hawaiʻi’s cultural norms and environmental areas.

Pono means righteous and morally correct. It encompasses the idea of being mindful of how you’d want someone to be treated and treating others that way. It relates to respecting the island’s hospitality and having awareness of the environment and culture around you.

You can add your name to it on the Pono Pledge website.

One of the nine pono pledges: “Molten lava will mesmerize me, but I will not disrupt its flow.”

Eco-Tourism experiences for each island

An important value for native Hawaiians and Hawaiʻi locals is the idea of mālama ʻāina or to care for the land.

Ecotourism experiences on Oʻahu

• Take a farm tour to see the farms behind Hawaiʻi Regional Cuisine.
• See Native Hawaiian plants and flowers at Honolulu Botanical Gardens’ five diverse sites on Oʻahu.
• From December through May, go whale watching off Oʻahu’s southern coast for humpback whales.
• Our guide to History and Culture on Oʻahu lists the island’s cultural sites and programs.

Ecotourism experiences on the Big Island

• At the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Center’s Hoʻopūlama Science and Discovery Center you can learn about efforts to protect and rehabilitate native bird species and other wildlife.
• At the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaiʻi Authority campus, the focus is on renewable energy, sustainability, and emerging technology. Check their site for current visitor options.
• Our guide to Historical and Cultural activities on the Big Island lists the island’s cultural and historical sites.
• Or, help restore native flora on a tree planting tour with Hawaiian Legacy Tours, where you can help plant a koa tree as part of the excursion.

Ecotourism experiences on Maui

• Take a drive to Upcountry Maui and stroll among fields of sweet lavender and purple protea in Kula.
• Or see gardens of native Hawaiian plants at the Kula Botanical Garden.
• Continue to the 10,023-foot summit of Haleakalā and you may see our state bird, the endangered nēnē (Hawaiian goose), or a Haleakalā silversword, a rare silvery succulent.
• If beach days are more your thing you can join the Pacific Whale Foundation as a community scientist/beachcomber. Sign up through the foundation, then clean up any stretch of Maui coastline, or your own beach back home.
• Our guide to culture and history on Maui lists more ecotourism experiences.

Ecotourism experiences on Kauaʻi

• Take a farm tour in the green Hanalei taro fields to see how kalo (taro), an important Hawaiian root starch, is cultivated.
• Some of Hawaiʻi’s largest botanical gardens are on Kauaʻi; the National Tropical Botanical Garden has three sites here: Allerton Garden and McBryde Garden just west of Kōloa, and Limahuli Garden on the North Shore.
• You can also take a whale-watching tour (December to May). If you spot an endangered Hawaiian monk seal hauled out on a Kauaʻi beach such as Poʻipū Beach, stay at least 50 feet back and give mother-pup pairs even more room. Only a few hundred of them live in the main Hawaiian Islands.
• Or browse our guide to some of the many cultural and historical things to do on Kauaʻi.

View from the Hanalei Valley Lookout. Credit: Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) / Tor Johnson