Hawaii bill seeks to gut funding aimed at protecting environment from tourism

Legislature seeks to strip funding of Hawaii's largest tourism agency, just as it refocuses on community and environment

Since 1998, the Hawaiian Tourism Authority (HTA) - the state's leading agency to manage tourism - has had its focus largely on marketing Hawaii to the world. But in 2019, when the state hit a record of over 10 million tourists, the milestone taxed residents, and caused significant environmental impacts on trails, beaches and sacred sites.

During the pandemic, the agency's new leader, John De Fries, called the time a huliau", which in Hawaiian means a time of transition. It was one that De Fries, the first Native Hawaiian in the role, felt would be the perfect moment to reset Hawaii in a way that would marry modern technology and Indigenous wisdom to protect the future of the island and promote its state-adopted sustainability goals by 2030.