Governor Josh Green signed 16 bills addressing environmental conservation and regenerative tourism.
Approximately 10 million tourists visit Hawaii every year. One possible measure would be for the Hawaii Tourism Authority to develop a tourism management plan for each island.
The plan will focus on both providing economic benefits to local communities and protecting and supporting the state’s natural resources.
The legislation comes as the HTA is considering major changes to its organizational structure after struggling to secure funding from state lawmakers over the past few years.
Green welcomed the HTA’s changes.
“If we want to continue to attract large numbers of visitors, we have to find a way to sustain that,” he said, “so we’re ready to do that by modifying the way HTA operates and focusing on strategic tourism management with a focus on revitalization and Native Hawaiians. This is clearly the right thing to do.”
Coastal erosion was another topic covered by Green, who signed a bill providing funding to the University of Hawaii to develop a North Shore Coastal Management Plan.
The plan will be used to guide the state’s future shoreline management and is expected to be completed by December 2025.
Green also signed a bill banning deep seabed mining due to environmental risks.
He has until Wednesday to decide whether to sign or veto the remaining bills.
