Island on the brink of financial collapse with fewer than 20 vacation arrivals daily.
272 thoughts on “Half of Kauai Businesses May Fail | Visitors Are Not Returning”
Comments are closed.
Home » Blog » Hawaii Travel Tips » Half of Kauai Businesses May Fail | Visitors Are Not Returning
What about the beach boy in Kauai ?
Kauai Coast at the Beach Boy is closed right now. We had reservations for 5 weeks that were supposed to start on the 15th after a bubble resort stay and they’ve been cancelled. We are hoping to go in September at this point. We’ll see when they actually open.
To Angie T, as a malahini to the islands I have certainly come to appreciate the culture of Aloha and respect it every time we visit which was once or twice a year, enough so that we were told that we were Kama a’ina. While I agree we visit often I don’t think this haole will ever agree to that moniker. My wife and I are heartbroken over the situation on Kaua’i and until it gets resolved we will visit our other property on the Big Island or for now, the USVI a much closer flight than the 14 hour journey to our second ‘home’. Be safe and we hope to return soon.
I feel like some Kauai locals have historically had a stigma against visitors. COVID has pushed this problem over the edge. The county’s decision to opt out of and then rejoin Safe Travels with it’s own unreasonable modifications only makes it more public knowledge. Who wants to visit an island where visitors feel unwelcome? Locals need to let go of the contempt by letting go of the past. Pride is not a virtue in this situation. Why continue to develop a culture for resenting other cultures? Kauai needs to unite with the state’s program. It will be a lonely island should they not. Thank you for your consideration.
Hi Merry.
Thanks for your input. It is definitely being seen by officials. Whether it is being heard is another matter.
Aloha.
We’ve been back on island since Nov 5, and have spoken with many full-time residents, especially since the Dec 2 shut-back-down. Nearly everyone likes it better without tourists. The light traffic, semi-empty beaches, quiet neighborhoods (ours, anyway), make island life way more enjoyable, unless of course you’ve been put out of work/business due to lack of tourists. Real estate, construction trades, residential landscaping/maintenance, etc., are booming.
According to the GI fish wrap, as of yesterday, 207 people have tested positive for COVID on Kauai since testing and perpetual counting began. One 84 year old gentlemen with stage 4 cancer passed away a few months ago. 3 people are “in isolation”, and the other 203 have officially recovered. No one is in the hospital because of COVID. IMO, there is no rational reason why Kawakami cannot rejoin the Safe Travels, he just doesn’t want to.
My wife, my brother, his wife and I are all scheduled to stay at a resort bubble location in early March. We’re certainly not excited for the three day restrictions, nor the $300 per person charge for monitoring bands and Covid tests. We would much rather spend that money on activities and dining at local establishments. Better for the locals and better for our experience. We’re coming regardless, but keeping our fingers crossed that Kaua’i will change to a negative pre-test only before the date of our trip.
What needs to happen is to get the vaccination program on steroids to take care of the Kupuna and other at-risk residents. I am planning to come again in mid-May and just got my second Pfizer vaccination shot today. However, there is not any information yet on whether a vaccinated tourist will have access to the island without jumping through all the other hoops. Not sure I can handle another lost year.
We had planned our yearly visit to Kauai in January for our family of 11 but due to the shut down, we were able to move that trip to Maui. Having just returned, we had a wonderful time even with all of the testing hoops. Every business we visited was thrilled to have us and we did our best to support them. Unless something drastic changes, we’ll likely not return to Kauai again.
Hi Sam,
Curious if you could shed a little more light on your Maui trip?? We are scheduled to go next week and have been going back and forth about if we want to go ahead and go or reschedule again. Were you there when they put the contact tracing app requirement into place? Were restaurants limiting occupants like retail stores are as well? Any insight you could share on your experience would be appreciated! We’re hoping to keep our plans – hoping for some reassurance!
Thanks!
We have reservations for one of the bubble resorts and then 5 weeks at the planned resort. We’ll see if the delay in opening extends beyond our planned arrival (already delayed once). I’m not sure what we’ll do if it is delayed again. We’ve been to Kauai pushing 20 times over the years and I’m getting tired of this nonsense.
Not sure there is any way solution to your self inflicted issues. The local government needs to come up with a budget that is drastically lower than this year. I think you need to do a budget that calls for a budget that is 50% of your current budget. Tourism will not return until 2025, and then you’ll have to deal with trying to get companies you come back to reopen closed hotels, finding labor and hoping that there are non-stop flights to your island. Don’t think you can survive with only time share business, and the lack of air service.
Life over money – rare in this world. Most Hawaii politicians only care about the tourism dollar – the infrastructure proves that – I for one applaud Kawakami for his stand on life over money! I’m also sorry for all the business that will not be coming back from this horror, very sorry. I run a business myself on Kauai but on the upside, the turtles are coming back to the beaches at night the dolphins are exploding and whales are everywhere as it should be!!!!!
There were a crazy amount of turtles there when we were there in 2019.
We visited Hawaii, specifically Kauai, for the first time last March (just before the problems started). From the time I landed until we left, I had a big smile in my face and we never encountered the slightest ill will from the locals. We planned a son’s honeymoon (Nov 20) but cancelled and a return trip for us in Dec 20 but cancelled. I use your site to keep up to speed hoping for a possible return. unfortunately, it seems that will be pretty far in the future with less businesses to support. Obviously, the beauty and tranquility of the island is the draw. The restaurants, shops and tours only enhanced the experience. We look forward to less restrictive policies which will make our return possible in the near future.
Hi Chip.
Happy to hear we are helpful in your planning process. We hope you can return soon.
Aloha.