Waikiki Beach is one of the most famed beaches in the United States, and certainly the most well known one in Hawaii, if not the most beautiful one. And there’s a new study out which shows that Hawaii would lose $2 billion in tourism dollars if Waikiki Beach were to be completely lost to erosion.

Just so we’re clear, no one’s saying that Waikiki is eroding. It’s a “what if” kind of thing. The study, which was sponsored and co-funded by the Waikiki Improvement Association (WIA), along with the Hawaii Tourism Authority, asked visitors if they would return to Waikiki if the beach was completely eroded.

The analysis of the findings shows that Hawaii would lose an annual $2 billion in visitor spending, which would in turn trigger the loss of 6000 jobs and slice annual state tax revenues by $125 million.

Have to say, though, that the study feels like more of a push poll, than an objective study. I mean, if you ask visitors whether they’ll come back if the beach is destroyed, what do you expect people to say? Of course, the intention, I think, was to highlight the importance of Waikiki Beach to Hawaii’s tourism industry, and its economy.

WIA’s 2008 agenda specifically focuses on the need to ‘replenish’ the sand at Waikiki Beach. Replenishing the sand at Waikiki beach was at the top of the agenda last year. Progress was made in 2007, but there is much more to be done. The WIA should encourage the State Department of Land and Natural Resources to engage in further replenishment projects and retain a consultant to determine how best to replenish the beach. The WIA should applaud all efforts to replenish the beach by any party.

And assuming the intention of the study was to hammer home the point that the sand at Waikiki Beach needs protection and replenishment, they’ve probably suceeded in scaring the daylights out of the state bureaucracy, who must now be having collective nightmares about desolate streets, empty hotels in Honolulu and bankrupt businesses.

Here’s the full report (pdf file). Photo by phault via flickr (creative commons).

Posted on December 8th, 2008 by Thomas
Filed under: Hawaii, Oahu