National Geographic ranks Hawaiian Islands

While destination travel rankings — Top 10 lists, readers’ surveys, traveler polls — are hugely popular, not many of those lists look closely at issues of sustainable tourism. The recently released rating of islands by National Geographic Traveler takes into account the delicate balance between responsible stewardship and tourism overkill. A panel of over 500 experts evaluated islands worldwide on “integrity of place,” including their environmental health, the condition of historic and archaeological sites, social and cultural integrity, and quality of tourism management. How the Hawaiian Islands scored may surprise you.

In the company of places such as Iceland and Ireland’s Aran Islands, Molokai ranked the highest, with a score of 79 (”minor difficulties”). The Big Island squeaked through, scoring 67 for its “[m]any beautiful facilities, but in danger of becoming too touristy.” Kauai, where “[l]ocals are being priced out of existence,” scored 64 (”in moderate trouble”). Maui rated lower (score: 57), being “overrun with excessive tourism development.” Oahu scored 46 (”in serious trouble”), partly because “[g]reater Honolulu is jam-packed with people, traffic jams, and smog,” although “[t]he revamping of Waikiki is a big improvement.” Lanai didn’t make the list.

Do you think Hawaii is suffering from tourism overkill? Give us your 2 cents.

Caveat: It’s not all bad news. As the National Geographic Traveler survey reminds readers, “All the islands that follow, even the lowest scoring, have great experiences to discover. To protect them, to restore them, we must value them as much as resort developers and cruise companies do. Even more.”

Why Go: There’s an argument to be made for visiting places that have already adapted to tourism, where the cultural impact you’ll make may be felt less deeply. Besides, even when you visit somewhere as popular as Oahu or Maui, you can still do things to minimize your tourism footprint (e.g., spend money at local businesses, avoid activities such as golf that consume huge amounts of the islands’ limited natural resources).

Why Not: Don’t think because Molokai ranked highest among the Hawaiian Islands that it’s the right island for you to visit. One National Geographic Traveler survey expert advised, “Better to just leave the island alone.”

Critique: The experts quoted in the survey had subjective opinions about the Hawaiian Islands. It would’ve strengthened the survey results to include some objective statistics (e.g., average tourist density per square mile) as part of the ranking process. For more details about how the survey was conducted, click here.

Contact: Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, 800-GO-HAWAII

Related links:
Molokai, the aggressively laid-back Hawaiian island
Hawaii Superferry sets off battle for Kauai
Condé Nast poll: Maui is world’s best island

—Sara Benson

[Photo: Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times]

Permalink | E-mail | Print | Add to My Trips

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at 11:38 pm by Sara Benson and is filed under Eco-Travel, Hawaii, Hawaii's Big Island, Islands & Beaches, Kauai, Lanai, Maui, Molokai, Oahu. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.