As HPR continues to look at the state of Hawaiʻi’s tourism industry, The Conversation took to the busy streets of Waikīkī to ask tourists to share their two cents on the price of travel.
One visitor, Brian, traveled from Salt Lake City with his children to visit the state — and for him, the price of paradise is not only worth the cost; it ought to remain high as well.
“Everything has to be shipped here,” he said.
“I think you should expect to pay more when you come to Hawaiʻi … it's an aspirational place that you want to come, and I think it should stay that way.”
Others, like David and his wife from San Luis Obispo, love to travel almost as much as they love to find deals. One way they cut down on their travel expenses is by avoiding hotels with hefty resort fees.
“We're not wealthy, but we have a reasonably good pension, so we just don't stay in places like this. You know, we're not staying in a $500 a night hotel,” David told HPR.
“Nobody wants to spend more than they have to,” his wife said. “I'd rather use that money for other things. I have grandkids.”
Despite the hurdles of heavy hotel fees and the trials of tripling travel fares, Hawaiʻi remains a paradise that visitors from across the globe still hope to visit.
Take Kathy and her friend from Australia. They’ve not only spent big bucks on their trip to Hawaiʻi — they’ve been planning it for over four decades.
“Of course you've got to save a lot. I think for any trip you take, everything goes up because of the cost of fuel. It's gone up immensely. Australia, it's gone up heaps,” Kathy told HPR.
Still, the cost was worth it, she concluded.
“We've been wanting to come here since she was here at 17. We're best friends — have been for 63 years. So we always said we wanted to come to Hawaiʻi together. It's just taken us that long. We're 63 now, and here we are.”
Other international visitors, however, don’t feel as warm a welcome to the islands.
One listener who works in the hospitality industry told HPR that some Canadian guests hesitate to visit Hawaiʻi due to President Donald Trump’s hostile remarks against their country.
According to these guests, messaging in Canada warns travelers about U.S. Customs and Border Protection procedures regarding unlawful detention.
More of HPR’s coverage on Hawaiʻi’s economy and tourism can be found here.
This story aired on The Conversation on Oct. 9, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
