There’s no doubt that the paradise of Hawaii has been rocked in recent years by natural disasters, including the raging wildfire in Maui two years ago, and political mismanagement, especially in the lucrative rental home market.
It only leads to an obvious question: Should Hawaii add a fee for travelers in 2025?
It's something the state had discussed in 2024, but nothing was ever finalized. The initial idea had two proposals for climate impact fee or green fee. The first would raise the accommodations tax rate by some to be determined percentage, while the other was a $25 fee that would've been added onto the cost of guest accommodations.
Then there was also talks of a $50 green fee for visitors to help offset tourism's impact on the environment.
No fee was implemented in 2024, only continued discussions.
So, should that change in 2025? Should Hawaii add more fees for travelers?
Yes. Absolutely. Seemingly everybody else is doing it, why shouldn’t they? It doesn’t have to be exorbitant. There is certainly strength in numbers. A so-called tax on tourists could be modest and a great way to raise some additional revenue.
It all brings me back to an anecdote from 35-plus years ago, when I went to Hawaii for the first time with my then-wife. She was chatting up some restaurant servers, and we all seemed to be astonished that the price of gasoline was approaching 50 cents per gallon. I will never forget the gentleman’s lucid argument:
“There’s a price to pay for living in paradise.”
The counter argument is, of course, that Hawaii already has high hotel taxes and the imposition of another fee would be onerous.
I say, hogwash.
There’s a price to pay for visiting paradise. This is with an added benefit of helping your compatriots out who suffered so much. For decades, Hawaii has shown us gratitude; it’s time to show them the same thing.
Of course, another fee on visitors would be a concern. For one, how any fee would be implemented remains unclear. But this does have an urgency to it and a sense of purpose. Tell me, would you really miss that cup of triple mocha latte or a souvenir magnet for the fridge from Diamondhead?
But it’s not that simple. A reader on Beat of Hawaii remarked, “I fully support the green fee. Our beaches and trails are overcrowded, and we need funds to maintain them.” Said another: “I’m not opposed to the fee, but will the money actually go to conservation or just into the state’s general fund?”
There are valid points and concerns on both sides. But adding another revenue-generating tax on tourists seems to be the way to go now.
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