Hawaii is raising taxes and fees, much of which disproportionately impacts visitors. Since the state has stated a desire to reduce Hawaii tourism, perhaps these plans are in perfect alignment with achieving the state’s goals.
London-based World Travel and Tourism Council, however, cautioned that high taxes on tourism could reduce tax revenues collected as it either deters travel to a destination or reduces the number of days visitors spend. In addition, they warned that high taxes on visitor accommodations and airfare can negatively impact highly desirable local spending. The State of Hawaii does not seem to be concerned about that.
Here are two examples of how some of those increases will happen and two different philosophies regarding implementation. One is immediate, and the other is to happen more incrementally.
It starts with Governor Josh Green suggesting two additional ways to raise funds to address climate change and fire mitigation. One would increase the…