Hawaiʻi is turning to visitor-funded models to pay for conservation of the islands’ natural beauty. The state and federal government have long charged fees for parks and now the counties are getting into the act.
Ten years ago, Hoʻomaluhia Botanical Garden in Kāneʻohe was a quiet, scenic greenspace set against the Koʻolau Mountains where residents could go to relax and enjoy nature.
But today, there’s three times as many visitors to the Windward Oʻahu garden — 724,000 last year alone. The reason? A viral photo posted on social media that’s drawing people to the park to recreate the shot.
It’s one of the reasons the City and County of Honolulu is now proposing a fee for visitors to the garden. The National Park Service and the state already charge visitors fees to enter their parks, and in some cases, another fee to park their cars.
Joshlyn Sand is the director of Honolulu Botanical Gardens. She said Hanauma Bay is the model for fees on Oʻahu. The East Oʻahu beach park has been charging visitors a fee to enter for about 30 years.
The result has been a decrease in the number of visitors to the bay, and also less traffic on the highway.
The city and the state are committed to not charging Hawaiʻi residents to use their parks. And Sand said they try to be fair when setting the fees for visitors who are already paying a high price to come to Hawaiʻi.
And starting this year, there’s another fee most visitors have to pay. The Green Fee went into effect in January. It’s an add-on to Hawaiʻi's transient accommodations tax that’s charged on all hotel rooms, vacation rentals and cruise ship rooms.
The money generated by the Green Fee will go for environmental stewardship, climate and hazard resilience and sustainable tourism. The governor’s office said it’s a way for visitors to share in the responsibility for protecting Hawaiʻi’s natural resources.
