Tourism
No single industry dominates Hawaii as much as tourism. The state is recognized internationally as a popular leisure destination. Locally, the industry sustains hundreds of businesses, employs tens of thousands of local residents, and brings in more than $10 billion dollars in visitor spending each year. In 2007, its best year on record, Hawaii's visitor industry generated about 17 percent of the gross state product and about 26 percent of total tax revenues.
When tourism is healthy — that is, when visitor arrival numbers are up and spending habits are strong — Hawaii's economy booms. When tourism suffers, as it has historically during recession, war, natural and manmade disaster, the state's financial stability is directly and negatively impacted.
