Solving over-tourism in Hawaii and achieving 250% revenue

The Hawaiian Government initiated a “Destination Management Action Plan” to build four integrated platforms catering to B2C, B2B, and B2B2C use cases. The goal was to develop a new reservation system that would mitigate environmental impact from foot traffic, reduce vehicle congestion in parks and surrounding neighborhoods, improve the experience for both kamaʻāina and visitors, and help preserve these landmarks for future generations. Rivi Labs developed these solutions, resulting in significant societal and economic benefits, including reaching 100K monthly users and generating 250% of the projected revenue in the first year.

Hawaii’s most recognizable landmark and the #1 activity in Honolulu sees daily foot traffic of 6,000 visitors during peak seasons, amounting to 10.3 million visitors in 2019 (with a population of only 347,181 residents). There was a pressing need for better planning and management of out-of-town visitors to ensure a pleasant, sustainable, and risk-free experience for all. Immediate intervention was necessary.

Source: Tripadvisor

The key objective was to develop a comprehensive online ticketing and parking reservation system for all 83 parks and destinations in the state of Hawaii, USA.

Rivi’s team was responsible for identifying technology requirements, scoping the project, managing the product, and developing the entire platform, including the backend, cloud infrastructure, web frontend, and mobile application. It was crucial to ensure seamless interaction between the four different applications to provide the necessary data for managing reservations in advance and on-site, along with efficient scheduling and payment processing.

Key products developed include:

• Application for Tourists: New reservations, reservation changes, accessing customer data, scheduling, QR code tickets, and processing credit card and other transactions.

• Application for Commercial Tour Operators: Integration of the tour operator database, sign-up and login, reservations, reservation changes, and generating tickets and QR codes.

• Application for Vendors: Vendor dashboard, managing reservations, generating reports, managing reservation settings, and account management.

• Application for Administrators: Admin dashboard, vendor management, park management, ticket management, time slot management, report generation, account management, and overseeing parks, tickets, prices, time slots, and administrator accounts.

• Application for On-site Operators: An iOS and Android mobile app used by operators at the site to scan QR codes on tickets shown by users and validate their booking details.

The solutions we developed were highly effective, providing robust, scalable platforms that addressed the over-tourism issue in Hawaii. The reservation system quickly gained traction, growing from 0 to 100K MAUs. The project brought significant societal benefits, such as improved visitor behavior and reduced environmental impact. Economically, it exceeded expectations, generating 250% of the projected revenue in the first year. On May 12, 2022, the Hawaiian government’s DLNR made it mandatory to reserve tickets online in advance for visiting Diamond Head. It’s said that even Leonardo DiCaprio was turned away for not having a reservation.

The success in managing key attractions in Hawaii, thanks to this integrated technology solution, has led the DLNR to continue working on their action plan and implementing similar management systems in other tourist sites across Hawaii and other U.S. states experiencing overcrowding due to tourism. This project became a model for scaling and developing effective digital transformation projects, with lessons applicable to other destinations like Venice, Iceland, and Amsterdam, where destination management is crucial to balancing tourism and community well-being. The Rivi team is proud to have contributed to mitigating a significant risk to Hawaii’s economy, local communities, and natural landscape.

• CNN: Visitors will soon need reservations for one of Hawaii’s most popular sites
• Forbes: Hawaii Travel Update: You’ll Now Need A Reservation To Visit Iao Valley On Maui
• Washington Post: Visiting a national park this summer? Here’s where you need reservations
• Lonely Planet: Hawaii’s Diamond Head requires tourists to reserve entry
• Travel + Leisure: This Popular Hawaii Attraction Will Now Require Reservations for Out-of-state Visitors
• Condé Nast Traveller: These Are the National Parks Requiring Reservations in 2023
• Sydney Morning Herald: Diamond Head hiking trail, Honolulu, Hawaii: Reservation system introduced to control crowds on trail
• CNBC: You may need reservations and permits for national park trips

• Park visitors Reservations: https://gostateparks.hawaii.gov/diamondhead
• PUC Reservations: https://gostateparkspuc.hawaii.gov/