These Hawaii Residents Are Using Social Media To Fight Overtourism … While state and county officials seek to regulate popular tourist spots, some residents are taking matters into their own hands.
The internet is full of photos and videos from Hawaii as tourism rebounds after months of being dormant due to the pandemic, but not everybody is happy with the publicity.
Several social media posts showing people touching endangered Hawaiian monk seals, hiking on a forbidden trail or going off designated paths have outraged locals and sparked a debate over how to better regulate and protect popular sites.
Overtourism and wayward hikers is not a new problem for Hawaii, which has been one of the world’s most popular destinations for decades. But an influx of visitors amid relaxed COVID-19 restrictions and the spread of social media influencers has raised new concerns.
