Coral reefs are both icons of biodiversity and global tourist attractions. By combining web-scraped public Instagram data and aerially mapped live coral cover maps across the main Hawaiian Islands, we find that coral reefs both attract and suffer from coastal tourism at an archipelago scale. Higher live coral cover attracts reef visitors, but that visitation contributes to subsequent reef degradation. Such feedback loops threaten the highest quality reefs, highlighting both their economic value and the need for effective conservation management.