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Sustainable Hawaii Tourism

• Sustainable Tourism on the Big Island of Hawaii
• Sustainable Tourism in Practice
• Going Green on the Island of Hawaii
• Sustainable Experiences
• Getting Started
• Be an Eco-Adventure Volunteer!
• World Heritage
• Malama Kai - Care of the Ocean
• Malama Aina - Care of the Land

Responsible Businesses

• Responsible Business Introduction
• B & B’s, Inns, Vacation Rentals, Condos, Timeshares
• Hotels & Resorts
• Activities, Attractions, Tours
• Restaurants

Related Sites

• Offset your Carbon Footprint
  Two websites help you offset your carbon foot print EvolutionSage.com and DoYourPartParks.org
• Kuleana Green Business Program
  Initiated in 2005, the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce’s Kuleana Green Business Program is the first program in the State of Hawai`i that promotes ethical and socially responsible business practices and environmental stewardship among every sector of the local economy.
• Friends of World Heritage
  Dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of protecting World Heritage, promoting sustainable development, and offering ways to explore World Heritage sites through sustainable travel.

• Kilauea Volcano & Other Parks
  • Kilauea--Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
  • Featured Parks by District
• Water Adventures
  • Snorkeling
  • Scuba Diving
  • Hawaii Surf Spots
  • Specific Beaches
  • Sport Fishing
  • Whale Watches, Boats & Submarines
  • Kayaking, Paddling & Canoes
  • Resort Beach Tip
  • Ocean Safety Tip
  • Malama Kai - Care of the Ocean
• Land Adventures
  • Custom Tours
  • Other Attractions
  • Sporting Activities
  • Horseback Riding Experiences Available on the Big Island
  • Other Guided Tours & Sightseeing
  • Hunting
  • Hiking
  • Bicycling
  • Botanical Gardens
  • Spelunking
  • Malama Aina - Care of the Land
• Learning Adventures
  • Explore Science Island Wide
  • Explore History Island Wide
  • Stargazing Mauna Kea

Aloha and welcome to the Big Island Visitors Bureau Sustainable Tourism mini-website. We’re pleased you took time to become more informed. As a responsible traveler, we know you are interested in learning about what sustainable tourism means on Hawaii Island and the ways you can support and be part of responsible tourism practices here.

Hawaii Island, in fact all of the Hawaiian Islands, are complex but fragile ecosystems that can be easily affected and altered by introduced influences and outside factors. One simple example: the Hawaiian Islands have the highest number of endangered and threatened plant and animal species of anyplace on the planet. Though these islands are some of the most remote in the world, they are by no means isolated, hosting more than seven million visitors each year, or seven times more than the resident population.

These visitors, like yourself, are important to Hawaii’s tourism industry, which is the State’s largest economic enterprise. Like any large industry, the day to day operations of tourism can put stresses on the physical environment and social/cultural fabric – or the very elements that make visitors want to come and enjoy the beauty, nature, heritage and people that are Hawaii. Sustainable tourism in Hawaii is about protecting, enhancing and conserving these resources for the enjoyment of future residents and visitors.

The tourism community on the island of Hawaii – as throughout the world – is already realizing the importance of adopting a sustainability ethic in its operations and activities if it wishes to survive and thrive. Travelers – like yourself – are in fact demanding it, and searching out those destinations and operations that indeed embrace and practice sustainable practices.

The model for sustainability on the island of Hawaii and other Hawaiian Islands was already in place and practiced here for more than a millennium, well into modern times, by the first inhabitants, the native Hawaiians. They were masters at using the islands’ land and sea resources to sustain what are thought to have been populations that were as large as or maybe larger than that of today. Their fishing, farming, planting, aquaculture and methods of creative food sustainability and use of ahupuaa (contiguous land divisions which extended from the uplands to the sea) are widely regarded as the most efficient in the Pacific. The Hawaiians understood and were keenly attuned to their environment and how to keep in balance with it. Though the ancient Hawaiian ways of living are not practiced by the majority of inhabitants here today, these ways serve as a guide and constant reminders of the need to be in harmony with this special place.