Hawaii moving closer to unique visitor tax

Anyone who has visited Hawaii knows it to be an extremely expensive destination.  Hotels and condo rentals are among the highest in the country, food needs to be imported so it's much more than you'd pay on the mainland, same with car rentals, etc. etc.   This tax won't bring in much revenue into total compared to the sales taxes collected from tourists and will only serve to hurt tourism in a state where it's so vital to the economy.

In parts of Europe where such fees are charged, they tend to be on a per-night and per-person basis - they are typically of the order of a couple of Euros p.p.n.. For longer stays the cost is often offset by discounts on visiting certain attractions or benefits in kind (e.g. a bottle of wine if you stay a week). As a result, visitors generally do not resent the fees.

Hawaii is very beautiful, but one of the most remote and hard to get to destinations on the planet.  For example, I know of few Europeans who have visited because of how far it is and the many options they have much closer to home.

Hawaii would be much smarter to hide the tax as a smaller nightly room tax, as you discuss professor.  For a family of 5 or 6, on top of flights, accommodations, etc. it might be the deciding factor for them to go elsewhere.

To be honest, I’ve paid many of these fees without noticing as they are most often rolled into hotel and short-term rental fees under ‘taxes’ and the like, and none were so large as to enter my planning. In fact, the one time I noticed was when a host in Berlin two years ago was able to offer me exemption from the tourism tax because I was traveling on (TravelGumbo) business!

While it is true that there should be a balance between what tourism contributes to an economy and what it costs, and there is sometimes real justification for these fees, there is also a tendency in some places to regard tourism as a golden goose that can be milked (mixed metaphor!) for whatever it can. And nowhere is that more true than in the absolutely rapacious concept in the U.S. of ‘resort fees’ charged by hotels.

Far better a few bucks for local government than huge added profits for hotel chains!

From Australia everywhere is far away so neither distance nor taxes deter us. We are a revenue collector's dream!