Hawaii Is Adding A New Tourism Fee To Your Stay (Here's What It Means For Your Trip)

If you've been swooning over your Hawaii travel guide and planning your perfect escape to the islands' sun-kissed beaches, you should know that your trip is about to get a bit more expensive. Hawaii's state legislature has passed a bill that will add an additional tax onto hotel and cruise ship stays starting January 1, 2026.The revenue will go toward mitigating Hawaii's climate emergency, caused in part by the masses of tourists who visit the islands each year. "With more than 10 million visitors a year, we need resources to protect our beaches, create fire breaks, fix parks and bathrooms and keep our islands safe and beautiful," Hawaii Governor Josh Green wrote in a post on X. 

In reality, the hotel tax is minimal — a .75 percentage point increase from the existing 9.25% to 10%. But those who visit by cruise ship will pay an 11% tax on the portion of their trips that they are docked in Hawaiian ports. That could add up, depending on how long you stay. But Governor Green hopes visitors will understand its importance. "The implementation of this Green Fee ensures that visitors who come to Hawai'i are making an investment in Hawai'i's future and become our partners in regenerative tourism," he told Newsweek. "The fee of about $4 on a $500 a night room will help us pay for all the climate impact of receiving 10 million visitors a year."

The bill's supporters estimate the new "Green Fee" will bring in up to $100 million a year, which will be reinvested into protecting Hawaii's natural resources and building and maintaining infrastructure to support tourism. Projects will including replenishing sand on Waikiki's eroding beaches and eliminating flammable, invasive grass species that stoke wildfires, like the devastating fire on Maui in 2023. The governor promised full transparency on how the funds will be managed and dispersed.

The new fee is the first of its kind in the U.S., but it's part of a growing global trend to manage the impact of tourism more responsibly. Many popular tourist destinations are instituting or increasing tourism taxes, and some are quite a bit steeper than Hawaii's. Amsterdam, for example, has the highest tourist tax in Europe, charging 12.5% of the nightly hotel rate, and the beautiful, mountainous country of Bhutan charges a Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) fee of $100 per person per day. But most people who visit agree it's worth it, and that's likely to be the case with Hawaii's new fee.