Hawaii has for decades steered its tourism industry with the guiding tenet “spend money to make money,” surging taxpayer dollars into national and international advertising campaigns, proactive outreach, infrastructure improvements, beautification and the creation of government bodies dedicated to the task of luring travelers. Those efforts cemented the islands’ reputation as America’s paradise, but recent visitor data suggests a prolonged nadir — started by the COVID-19 pandemic — for the state’s main industrial driver. Something must be done to shift that trajectory.