In the immediate days following the tragic fires that burned through the town of Lahaina and surrounding areas in West Maui, the overwhelming message that was communicated to tourists was that Maui was closed to visitors.
And while many affected locals are still asking visitors to hold off on their travel, other stakeholders — from government officials to local businesses — have started to ask respectful travelers to come to parts of Maui unaffected by the fire.
“In order to recover, we need to strike the proper balance of rebuilding and recovering by continuing to welcome visitors to our shores,” said Mufi Hannemann, president and CEO of the Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association. “With the exception of the now-restricted Lahaina and West Maui area, the remaining resort destinations of that island remain open, including Wailea, Kihei, Makena and Kahului. So, if a visitor can secure a confirmed room reservation, they are welcome to come.”
Hannemann, who is the former mayor of the city and county of Honolulu, further stated that the rest of the islands — Hawaii Island, Kauai, Lanai, Molokai and Oahu — are also open and welcoming visitors.
In order to recover, we need to strike the proper balance of rebuilding and recovering by continuing to welcome visitors to our shores. With the exception of the now-restricted Lahaina and West Maui area, the remaining resort destinations of that island remain open, including Wailea, Kihei, Makena and Kahului.
In his statement, Hannemann shared that helping the people and businesses of West Maui recover was still the No. 1 priority. But welcoming tourists is necessary to help West Maui recover. (According to the Maui Economic Development Board, 70% of every dollar is generated directly or indirectly by the visitor industry to Maui.)
"Bear in mind that so many of the victims and their families depend on the visitor industry for their jobs and futures,” he said. “While they may have lost their homes and more, losing their incomes would only add to the pain and hardship of their situation. That’s why it’s important to keep tourism functioning to keep our economy alive and give our people hope and the ability to rebuild their lives.”
Richard Bissen, mayor of Maui County, was one of the first government officials to say that unaffected parts of Maui are not closed in a press conference on Aug. 12. On Aug. 16, Josh Green, governor of Hawaii, echoed the same sentiments during a press conference — which were then shared by the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
"Like we saw in the pandemic, decisions we made can affect everyone across the islands,” Green said. “So, what we’re saying now is travel should not be to West Maui. But the other parts of Maui are safe. And the rest of the state, of course, is also safe. We want people to travel to the state to the extent that they’re not impacting the hard work that these extraordinary people are doing supporting disaster recovery.”
We want people to travel to the state to the extent that they’re not impacting the hard work that these extraordinary people are doing supporting disaster recovery.
Green shared that he is expecting $500 to $600 million of investment in some of the early cleanup, and that there will be billions of dollars invested in reconstruction.
“We also intend to do a public work program to hire local people, so that work comes and stays with our local people,” he said. “A lot of money is going to be invested in Maui in a kind of an extraordinary way to relief efforts, and that’s going to help us survive.”
Local businesses are also doing their part to get the word out about the importance of tourism to the island’s recovery efforts.
In a release, Tapani Vuori, the general manager of Maui Ocean Center, said that the resources provided by tourism will help Maui manage the long-term efforts needed to restore the island.
An employed Maui is a resilient Maui.
"An employed Maui is a resilient Maui,” Vuori said. “Many of our local businesses depend on the visitor community, and as that dwindles, the hardships on our island multiply.”
Vuori, like others, was specific in what kind of tourism Maui can handle right now — and where.
"Maui welcomes respectful, thoughtful tourism,” Vuori said. “While we request that you respect Lahaina and its residents by giving them the space and resources they require, we welcome you to visit the rest of our island. The island is large and diverse, with many places far from the devastation our community is addressing.”
