There is no such thing as a "good tourist," especially in Hawaii. Tourism as an industry is the prostitution of our natural environment and traditional culture. There is no way anyone can sustainably *tour* our islands. I'll explain why.

Majority of tourists travel to Hawaii via jet airliner, which contributes to sound pollution and are detrimental to the environment on its own. But then consider airlines like Hawaiian, where they use Hawaiian culture as a gimmick to score novelty points with foreigners.

When a tourist comes to Hawaii, they contribute to waste, and I'm not just talking garbage. Overall, tourists contribute to our islands' consumption of energy, food, and water, whilst creating large amounts of waste (including garbage and sewage).

Some would say, "well, what if I minimize my consumption?" That doesn't matter. The hotel you're probably staying at operates in a manner that consumes all of those things *for* you. Common areas in hotels are operational almost 24/7. Your being there encourages them to expand.

A study found a correlation between the amount of consumption and the amount of employees at a hotel. The more employees, the more they consumed. The more tourists, the more employees. "Creating more hotel jobs," also means more consumption and waste.

Rental cars contribute to pollution, but also add to the already congested traffic of our islands (especially Oʻahu). Realistically, there's no way around using a car, so the practical solution is to just not come in the first place.

On a normal year, our public areas, especially beaches and hiking trails, are inundated with tourists year round. This decreases quality of life here in a very tangible way. Less space for the people who actually live here, more damage to the environment, and, again, more waste.

My point is, your individual decisions definitely matter. The most important decision that you as a prospecting tourist can make is the decision *not* to come to Hawaii.

If you want to help Hawaii from home, you can. Donate to some of our charities. Buy online from our local vendors. But you're not helping when you travel here. You're making things worse, no matter how conscientious you think you're being.