That the visitor industry would be so blatant in promoting Hawaii via cultural images and ideas, and not support to any greater degree the perpetuation of authentic and living Hawaiian culture and language in the local communities, is another expression of cultural prostitution. An example on the local political scene is the unchastised governmental support of the Hawaiian Visitors Bureau to the tune of several millions of dollars every year. Compare this with the lack of direct funding to support programming to perpetuate the culture or the recovery of the language of native Hawaiians and one can only conclude that tourism is a one way street. The character of indigenous Pacific cultures in relationship to the land is one based on a high level of environmental awareness and ecological conservatism. The relationship of people to land, and people to sea, is spiritual and religious.
Land is the base around which a culture evolves.
When tourism takes away the land, takes away access to the fishing grounds or the right to gather food or medicine, the Hawaiian loses a primary means of livelihood, and more important, meaning in life. He is attached to the Fiji government's National Environmental Management Project. And to add delight to the mystique of these magnificent forests is the fact that no danger is concealed by the damp green curtain of the Fijian jungle. Unlike other island groups to the west, Fiji supports no crocodiles, malaria, or leaches, and yet its land masses surpass those to the east in size, biological diversity, and forest cover. This presents both a danger and an opportunity.