Hawai’i is known for its beautiful resorts but its native and local populations are often forgotten and exploited through tourism.
We often wonder what their lives would look like if they could live in the paradises they travel to on vacation. They fantasise about not having to work, relaxing on the beach and surfing all day in faraway, ‘exotic’ places. Very rarely do we consider the reality of those who live in these vacation destinations, or the impact that tourism has on their home. Hawai’i, for example, is known for its beautiful resorts but its native and local populations are often forgotten and exploited through tourism.
The animated movie Lilo & Stitch (2002) is one of the few mainstream films in the past decades to focus its perspective on native Hawaiians and Hawaiian tourism. When you look past its cute alien family adventure, you’re left with a story about a very young woman, Nani, trying to keep custody of her sister Lilo whilst having no job prospects.
In the film Nani is a resort worker doing what she calls ‘fakey luaus’ to give tourists the illusion they desire from her home - a Hawai’i that she herself and most native Hawaiians have no access to. Tourism critique, while not the main theme of the animated film, should not be detached from Lilo’s story, and is why Disney’s live action remake of the film has garnered such controversy.
Though the movie hasn’t been released yet, Disney has decided to change its narrative framing of tourism in its live action version of Lilo & Stitch (2025). In this new remake, an immediate change shows Cobra Bubbles change from a social worker trying to take Lilo away, to an agent looking for Stitch. Changing this plot to focus on Stitch redirects the attention from Nani and Lilo and the issues they face as a result of overtourism.
The question isn’t if Disney is changing its narrative but why. Capitalising on and normalising tourism in Hawai’i completely disregards the pressures that tourism places on the islands. Companies such as Disney purchase cheap property on Hawaii's islands to build resorts, funneling all tourism revenue away from the local economy. In doing so, Disney and other tourist companies make these islands unlivable for their native populations.
For the local population of Hawai’i, the prospect of owning their own home seems impossible. Short-term rental units are prioritised over sustainable, long-term housing in order to cater to tourism. According to the Borgen Project, the average price of a house in O’ahu (one of the largest islands in Hawai’i) has increased from $789,000 to $1.15 million between 2019 and 2022. Wealthy out-of-state buyers, along with large corporations, make up the majority of those that can afford these high prices. The housing crisis in Hawai’i has seen an increase in poverty and homelessness amongst the local population, particularly those indigenous to the area. In creating an economy completely centered around tourism, large companies exploit native land and resources while Hawaiians are pushed out.
As such, large movements and protests have been held over the past few years by Hawaiians to end over tourism of their islands. Advocacy for Hawaiian independence from the United States has also certainly grown out of Hawai’i’s desperate overtourism issue. Nation of Hawai’i is a national liberation movement that calls for Hawaiian sovereignty and independence from the United States. Nation of Hawai’i’s mission statement outlines their desire to “maintain and preserve the sophisticated religion, language, and culture of the Native Hawaiian people”.
When we go abroad anywhere, not just to Hawai’i, it's integral to be aware of what it is we might be contributing to and what sort of propaganda we’ve been shown about our stays. The depiction of Hawai’i in Disney’s upcoming live action version of Lilo and Stich presents a pertinent reminder of why we must be cautious about how popular holiday destinations are depicted in the media.