This NYT story, “Hawaii on a Dime,” is number one on the Times’ “Most Emailed” list this evening.

That’s interesting coupled with the Advertiser’s story today which reports an expected 1-percent-plus drop in visitor arrivals in 2007 from the previous year. Increasing talk about a US economic recession is not going to help the situation.

I guess being the “Most Emailed” means Hawaii is still somewhat interesting to NYT readers! Either that, or nearly everyone who has visited Hawaii has noticed how exorbitantly expensive it is here and can relate.

We locals live with high costs every day. But here’s what writer Matt Gross had to say after a recent visit:

Hawaii is easy, Hawaii has nothing to hide. Hawaii is, touristically speaking, pornographic in its single-minded baring of its assets.

Hawaii is also — duh — expensive. According to AAA’s 2007 Annual Vacation Costs Survey, a family of four could expect to spend $650 a day there on food and lodging, making it the least affordable state in the country — and that doesn’t even take into account Hawaii’s gas prices, consistently among the nation’s highest.

But while daunting fuel costs and overpriced villas surprise no one, Hawaii can be ruthlessly surreptitious when it comes to extracting every last dollar from tourists.

“Ruthlessly surreptitious”? Ouch. But then Gross goes on to talk about almost paying $2.95 for a 12-ounce cup of Kona coffee in Kailua (not Waikiki). And I realized, well, yeah, he’s right.

We’ve always promoted the image abroad of a wonderfully relaxing vacation spot. Visit our beaches, stay at luxury hotels, shop at the gigantic and ever-expanding Ala Moana Shopping Center. All these things, with the exception of the beach, cost money.

Leaving the windward side, Gross and his wife make their way to South Kona and Kauai’s Na Pali coast in search of something “less commercial.” Happily, they find what they’re looking for from Hawaii — beautiful and intimate interactions with nature without it costing them an arm and a leg.

It made me think about a trip I took recently to Costa Rica, whose economy is also based heavily on tourism. It was my first time in the country and I was intrigued by the concept of “eco-tourism,” which is supposed to encourage visitors’ appreciation of history, nature and culture while avoiding the negative environmental impacts of conventional tourism.

Costa Rica is all about eco-tourism. During our short stay we saw monkeys swinging from trees, got close-up with a crocodile while riding down the river in a 10-person boat, hiked up a volcano and witnessed baby sea turtles in Tortuguero hatch from their eggs and scramble towards the tumbling Caribbean Sea. The accomodations were nice, but not fancy, and we spent a lot of time in the rainforest without TV, internet or phones.

Would eco-tourism work in Hawaii? Costa Rica and Hawaii surely have a lot in common in terms of what they can offer travelers. And I still think our beaches are more beautiful.

But I’m not sure. I’m also not sure that moving more towards eco-tourism would be welcomed by all Hawaii residents, although many have talked about the idea.

Eco-tourism also wouldn’t make visiting Hawaii free for visitors. Certainly visiting Costa Rica was less expensive but not cheap. Here, Kona coffee would still be $2.95 a cup.

All the same, it’s interesting that more and more people come to Hawaii to escape the concrete jungle completely and get back to the wilderness, hike hidden trails, go snorkeling, or avoid the restaurants altogether and pack a picnic lunch. Less Ala Moana, more Hanakapi’ai. Maybe we should be taking note.

(Photo: Hanalei River Valley, Kauai, 2007)