Introduction

The sixth largest Hawaiian island has a long and colorful history that has made it one of the most unique places in the United States. Almost entirely owned by the Dole Foods Corporation, Lanaâi for years was essentially the worldâs largest pineapple plantation. Early this decade, however, it made a quick transition from an economy based entirely on pineapples to one based on luxury tourism. This transition was not guided by local government, but rather by Dole Foods, which acts much like a benign monarch over the island.

History

Native Hawaiians at first avoided Lanaâi because they believed it was haunted by cannibalistic ghosts. Eventually, a young chieftainâs son was exiled there for violating taboo. Expected to die, he instead made a living off the islandâs natural riches, and eventually curious islanders from his homeland on Maui came to help him settle Lanaâi. As many as 3,000 people, farming the soil, lived there at one time. By the end of the eighteenth century, when Europeans discovered the Islands, wars had reduced this number to a mere handful.

At about the time of the American Civil War, Mormons bought and settled the island. They established a sugar plantation, built a small railroad, and irrigated the soil (Lanaâi receives much less rain than most of the other Hawaiian islands). At the turn of the century, the Mormon farming operation went under and the island was sold.

Eventually, in 1922, James Dole bought the island for just over a million dollars and planted it with pineapples. Doleâs pineapple company brought in the Filipino and Japanese workers who now make up a majority of the population of the island. Until the late 1980âs, the pineapple operation (the worldâs largest), was the islandâs sole industry.

Changing Lanaâi

During the 80âs, market conditions changed. Rising costs in Hawaiâi prevented Doleâs pineapples from competing with low-priced international competition. Lanaâiâs young people, with little to look forward to but a hard life in the pineapple fields, were leaving for better opportunities on the main islands. The company, which owns 98% of the island and employs most of its people, decided it was time to make a change. It began to gradually phase out pineapple operations on the island. Now, Lanaâi only grows enough pineapples to feed itself.

Dole knew that it had to find something to replace pineapples, or the island would have no industry and most of its people would probably have to leave. So Dole Foods created paradise- a tourist destination for the rich who wanted to get away from it all.

Dole Foodâs real estate division constructed two luxurious hotels in 1990 and 1991 to draw in tourists and provide employment for the islandâs people. Previously, the old, ten-room Hotel Lanaâi, originally built to house visitors to Doleâs estate, had been the islands only hotel (Hotel Lanaâi now provides the islandâs limited accommodations for travelers with smaller budgets).

Lanaâi is perfectly positioned to appeal to the up-scale market. It is a relatively large, extremely beautiful island, with easy access to both Oahu and Maui. Dole resorts have no competition on the island, as it owned 98% of the land. Appealling to the richest customers also helps shield Lanaâi from economic fluctuations that affect the tourist spending of the middle-class.

The results appear good, though it is hard to get good economic information on the island (Dole Foods would need to make its business records public. . .). Jobs in the two new resort hotels and related services provide better wages and a better working environment than their predecessors in the pineapple field. For the first time in decades, young Lanaâians feel they can stay on the island and make a good living.

Conclusion

Because of its unique location and circumstances, Lanaâi probably cannot provide a good model for transition to other resource-dependant locales. It may, however, be an excellent place to study environmental protection in a private-goods setting. Dole owns almost the entire island. Will its high-class tourism coexist with the islands natural setting? Or will Dole feel obliged to alter the natural state to please its customers?