Hawaii lawmakers are poised to approve a $25 climate change tax on tourists visiting the Aloha State to combat what they say is an attack on the region’s natural resources.
The state, visited by 9.5 million people last year, is recovering from the devastating wildfires in Lahaina, Maui, which killed at least 100 people and caused about $6 billion worth of damage.
State officials say the proposed tax would go towards protecting the coast and preventing wildfires.
“It’s a very small price to pay to protect paradise,” said Democratic Gov. Josh Green of Hawaii. told the Wall Street Journal.
The tax by the country’s 50th state will follow the example of other popular tourist destinations, including Greece. Venice, Italy. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Palau is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean. Greece; New Zealand and New Zealand both charge fees ranging from $1 to $100 for tourists.
In 2022, Greene campaigned on a platform of requiring all tourists to pay a $50 admission fee to the state, but the proposal failed to garner the necessary votes in the state Legislature.
“Honestly, all I want to do is hold travelers accountable and have the ability to help them pay for the impacts they’ve caused,” Green told The Associated Press last year. .
“We get between 9 million and 10 million visitors a year, but only 1.4 million people live here. Those 10 million tourists are going to help sustain our environment.”
Green told the Journal that he expects the $25 fee to raise $68 million a year for the state, which will be used to establish a state fire marshal’s office and help with disaster prevention.
Some lawmakers believe the tax violates the U.S. Constitution’s protections against free travel, and instead encourages annual licenses or passes to visit parks and trails popular with hikers.
Both policies would be the first of their kind for any U.S. state.
Hawaii lawmakers are considering other alternatives, including raising the state’s hotel tax, the highest in the country.
Democratic state Rep. Sean Quinlan, chairman of the House Tourism Committee, said changing travel patterns are part of the reason for Hawaii’s push.
He said the number of golf rounds per visitor per day has decreased by 30% over the past decade, while hiking has increased by 50%.
Others look for previously unknown sites they saw someone post on social media. The state doesn’t have the money to manage all these locations, he says.
“It’s not like it was 20 years ago where you could take your family and visit a famous beach or two and see Pearl Harbor. That’s about it,” Quinlan said.
“Nowadays, it’s like, ‘I saw this post on Instagram and it has these beautiful rope swings and coconut trees.'”
with post wire
