In Hawaii, a tropical paradise known for its stunning scenery and vibrant tourist destinations, a less obvious but now more frequently discussed issue is making waves. Hawaii's extremely high cost of living is especially hard on those working in the travel industry, whose wages generally have not kept up with the rising cost of living in Hawaii.
Hawaii retains the dubious honor of being the highest cost of living in the U.S. Last year, Hawaii's average cost of living exceeded the national average by an astonishing 80.3%, according to data from the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center. This is also primarily due to housing costs, which also increased by 213%.
However, this includes high-income earners and does not reflect the reality of those employed in the low-wage travel industry. With such high costs, many Hawaii residents find it difficult to afford basic necessities. According to Forbes magazine, Hawaii has the lowest disposable income in the nation, averaging just $5,929 a year.
The travel industry remains essential to Hawaii's economy.
The sense of urgency of the situation is clearly felt. Many of the people employed in this sector, from hotel and restaurant staff, earn wages insufficient to cover their living expenses. This disparity is due to high turnover rates, staffing shortages that force irregular service and work hours, out-of-state migration of people, people working three jobs, multigenerational living, and an overall decline in quality of life. Connected. This is also impacting the tourist experience and hurting Hawaii's reputation as a top travel destination.
Additionally, inflation remains a problem in Hawaii. The continued price increases evident here are adding further pressure to an already bad economic environment.
The impact on Hawaii travel is significant.
With the cost of living rising and rising rapidly, attracting and retaining quality staff for Hawaii travel has become a major challenge. As an example, various sectors, including restaurants, often have to increase wages or provide additional, sometimes unusual benefits, in order to retain employees.
We know of multiple travel companies that have stepped up to provide housing to retain their employees. But it also leads to increased costs that are passed on to visitors. Compared to other destinations that offer high-quality travel experiences at low costs, Hawaii's competitiveness with other destinations is eroding.
How can Hawaii address these issues?
It is unclear how Hawaii can develop policies to ease the economic burden faced by low-income people, especially those employed in the tourism industry. The most important proposal that consistently surfaces but remains unresolved is to provide more affordable housing solutions.
As Hawaii continues to attract tourists from all over the world, ignoring the needs of those who run the tourism industry will definitely backfire. Balancing the cost of living and wage growth in Hawaii travel is critical to both the well-being of our residents and the continued success of the Hawaii travel industry, a major economic driver.
What do you think Hawaii should do to address the runaway costs impacting the travel industry?
