Tourism has taken a hit in the week since the wildfire devastated Lahaina, a popular vacation destination that was also home to historic sites significant to Hawaiian residents.
The number of airline passengers to Maui on Sunday was down nearly 81 per cent compared to the same time last year, according to the Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
In 2022, 2.9 million tourists visited Maui, which has a year-round population of 165,000, according to the latest numbers from the US Census Bureau. The state tourism department reported in February that visitors spent US$5.69 billion on Maui in 2022.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority now is asking visitors to avoid all non-essential travel to West Maui, the part of the island affected by the fires, so resources can be used to help locals recover.
“It is likely that a big chunk of the people who are affected, losing family members, losing family homes, it’s likely a lot of them were employed by the visitor industry,” tourism authority spokesperson Ilihia Gionson said.
Hotels in West Maui have temporarily stopped accepting bookings. Many are housing their employees and preparing to house evacuees and first-responders working on disaster recovery, according to the tourism authority.
The agency urged visitors to areas of Maui that did not burn – such as Kahului, Wailuku, Kihei, Wailea and Makena – to contact their accommodation and ensure they could still be hosted.
“Maui is not closed,” Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said at the weekend press conference alongside the governor. “Many of our residents make their living off of tourism.”
Source: CNA
