The Economic Sustainability of Culture in Hawai’i: Tourists’ Willingness to Pay for Hawaiian Cultural Experiences

Abstract

Given the current travel restrictions with the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an unprecedented opportunity for Hawai’i to reexamine its current tourism offerings and establish a new approach to support a more authentic, cultural, and sustainable tourism for the U.S. domestic tourist market. As tourists from the continental U.S. are the largest source market for visitors to Hawai’i, the purpose of this study is to examine the trend towards an “authentic cultural” tourism experience and evaluate whether U.S. visitors will be willing to pay for a deeper integration and representation of Hawaiian culture in tourism offerings. The contingent valuation method (CVM) was adopted to quantify the willingness to pay (WTP) more by the tourists to Hawaii in order to experience a more “authentic Hawaiian cultural experience” as well as “sustainable experiences”. Differences between returning and first-time visitors were considered. This study focused on continental U.S. visitors’ perceptions of Hawaiian culture and the sustainability of Hawaiian tourism products, as well as the assessment of locally grown food and tourists’ willingness to pay extra for these tourism products and experiences. The contingent valuation survey demonstrated that continental U.S. travelers were supportive of an additional fee in order to experience authentic Hawaiian cultural and tourism experiences designed and/or facilitated by Native Hawaiians. In addition, U.S. visitors were also supportive of paying additional fees for activities or experiences to support sustainable tourism in Hawai’i, including paying more for locally grown food, indicating that they would be willing to increase their restaurant/hotel food bill in order to support the Hawaii’s local farming industry. The results of this study demonstrate that there are economic opportunities to further integrate Hawaiian culture and sustainability into the experience of visitors, and that U.S. visitors are willing to support these cultural activities financially.

The local food supply, willingness to pay and the sustainability of an island destination

“…As previous studies have established, consumers are often willing to pay a premium to support causes in which they believe. This study's results support other studies (Andrade et al, 2021;Ares and G ambaro, 2007;Boccaletti and Moro, 2000;Chen, 2011a, b;Shepherd, 2009;Siegrist et al, 2008;Tobler et al, 2011;Verbeke, 2006) that demonstrate that consumers exhibit a willingness to pay premium prices to support socially responsible ideals and to advocate for environmentally friendly tourism practices. The study also extends the scope of the contingent valuation model to the context of locally farmed sustainable food in Hawai'i.…”

“…Generally speaking, consumers can either have a material purchase or an experiential purchase. A material purchase is one in which money is spent with the primary goal of acquiring a tangible object, whereas an experiential purchase is one in which money is spent with the goal of acquiring a life experience, which is an event or series of events that each person can personally experience (Andrade et al , 2021; Feng et al , 2021; Jin et al , 2015; Ronzoni et al , 2018; Schmitt, 1999; Tao, 2014; Van Boven and Gilovich, 2003; Voss, 2007). In the food industry field, experiential buying is manifested today in sharing space to realize the social and convivial dimension of eating, creating paths that can bring emotions to life, and where some important values can emerge.…”

“…., 2022;Santos et al, 2020). Hawaiian culture has been degraded, distorted and commodified as a result of actions that have reduced Hawaiian culture to tourism(Andrade et al, 2021;Agrusa et al, 2010;Williams and Gonzalez, 2017). A second renaissance of Hawaiian culture in the state of Hawai'i began following the civil rights movement.…”

Financing conservation at scale via visitor green fees

“…While there are few econometric analyses available to determine elasticity of visitor demand to green fees in these locations, the available information on existing green fee programs suggest that cost effects on visitor arrivals and expenditures, if any, are low. Moreover, willingness to pay analyses demonstrate that visitors are willing to pay a premium for cultural preservation and/or environmental protection (Viteri Mejia, 2011;Andrade et al, 2021;Booth et al, 2022).…”

“…As tourism destinations re-build in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, visitor green fee programs are becoming more prevalent as a policy means to support sustainable and responsible tourism recoveries that prioritize investment in natural capital and the local communities that depend on intact environments. Visitors' willingness to pay and visitor demand has been reshaped by the COVID-19 pandemic (Andrade et al, 2021), which has increased travel barriers through new entry requirements and travel costs.…”