Rethinking Tourism in the Pacific: Regenerative Tourism and the Case of O'ahu, Hawai'i

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic brought tourism on O‘ahu to a halt and created an opportunity to rethink the island’s long-standing dependence on mass tourism. This pause sharpened debates around overtourism and limits to growth while drawing attention to regenerative tourism. The O‘ahu Destination Management Action Plan (DMAP, 2021–2024) is the island’s central policy instrument aligned with this vision. This study evaluates the DMAP’s feasibility by combining semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from tourism, visitor management, and academia with a resident survey on awareness and perceptions. Findings indicate that while regenerative practices such as volunteer initiatives and community-based projects already exist, they remain fragmented and lack political support, funding, and binding regulations. Although participants regarded the DMAP’s objectives as meaningful, they criticized its weak visibility, symbolic implementation, and lack of enforcement, with few residents reporting direct awareness of the plan. Structural reliance on mass tourism and neglect of visitor behavior continue to constrain change. Genuine regeneration will require political will, coordinated governance, reliable monitoring, and the full integration of Native Hawaiian perspectives.