Christine Hitt
Kathleen Wong's debut book, "The Conscious Traveller Hawaii," arrives at a time when the way people visit the Hawaiian Islands is changing.
The Conscious Traveller Hawaii helps visitors learn how to travel ethically. Photo Credit: Kathleen Wong
Across the industry, there's been a growing push to move away from high-volume tourism and toward something more thoughtful, with a stronger focus on culture, community and sustainability.
Wong's book fits right into that conversation. A travel reporter who grew up on Oahu, she set out to create something more meaningful than a typical guidebook.
"I definitely didn't want to write just any travel book to Hawaii," she says. "I don't take writing about travel to Hawaii lightly because I've seen the effects of overtourism or people not being respectful. So to me, if I was going to write a travel book, it had to be for someone who wanted to be really intentional and mindful about their time here."
Instead, she focuses on what it means to be a more conscious traveler. "I want someone to really get to know the Islands, not just go to the beaches and see everything that's beautiful, but get to know the community and care about where their money is going and how their time is spent," she says.
Rethinking tourism in Hawaii
That mindset lines up with Hawaii's broader efforts to rethink tourism, including destination management plans aimed at easing overcrowding and protecting cultural and natural resources. For visitors and travel advisors, the book helps make more intentional choices and it offers plenty of ideas to pull from, including outdoor adventures, museums, beaches, hiking, historic sites and restaurants.
There's also a big emphasis on giving back, like volunteering or supporting locally owned businesses. "I feel like it also benefits them, when they volunteer they just get a deeper understanding of Hawaiian culture, so I think it's kind of a win-win," Wong says.
She also is candid about challenges certain places are facing and how there's more native Hawaiians living outside of Hawaii than on the Islands. "I knew I would regret if I didn't touch on a lot of issues," she says, underscoring the importance of awareness in travel planning.
Overall, the message is simple: travel can mean something more than just a vacation. "My main goal was to educate some people who want to be a better traveler, want to do more good than cause harm," Wong says.
And for anyone planning a trip to Hawaii, that mindset is becoming more important than ever.