132 thoughts on “Hawaii 2020: Biting The Hand That Feeds Us”

  1. Jeff, Rob – Mahalo for a great blog. I read it all the time. Question for both of you – Has Hanalei Bay fully recovered from The Great Flood? My wife & I visited Kauai (where we plan to retire in 2021) in August-September 2018, and Hanalei Bay was still in very rough shape – the beach, the pier and even the water. We’re very jealous that you spent this summer enjoying Hanalei Bay. Aloha

    1. Hi Tom.

      LOL. The last time Hanalei was so quiet was in 2008/2009. It was a unique time this summer. Hanalei has recovered but we know exactly what you mean. After the flood, even the ocean floor there was changed, and swimming was quite challenging. Much more normal this year in all ways. There are quite a few changes in terms of infrastructure and park usage, and we’ll update on that soon, so thanks for asking.

      Aloha

  2. Aloha
    Its sad to hear all the people who have money complain… that they can’t go to the islands.remember the people of Hawaii do not get your 800 a night or better.for your stay at a fancy motel that is owned by rich corporations who built on the prime land
    The working people of Hawaii make 10.10 an hour .maybe try tipping a lot more. and they might enjoy you coming .tip extra too the person who cleans your hotel room your urine off the toilet and floor the shower picks up your garbage the person who cleans up the pool area the person who brought you that fancy drink …..I cleaned 15 to 30 beds and toilets a day for 4.25 an hour became disabled from this work not much tipping going on back then either.this was in California and let’s not forget about the person who left red jello in the bathtub no tip there either .Do not assume the person who is cleaning up after you makes the big bucks the pay sucks and no appreciation so please tip tip tip and maybe the island people might not mind you being there and please respect them
    Mahalo Julie M

    1. You are so right, if the tourism industry payed a living wage to their employees local people might have a more receptive perception towards the industry.

  3. “Hawaii is always rated as one of the if not the worst states in the country in which to do business.” And yet it is business that pays the bills. 1/3 of our population is on assistance, 1/3 works for one of the branches of government, and business pays for it all. Now what? It will be imperative to encourage clean business or else wither away. Regardless the people making the decisions will be taken care of with their pensions and insurance…but the rest of us? Time for accountability too.

  4. Thanks for that interesting article. Just a couple of points to consider:

    1. The fact that most of the people who are coming down with COVID are locals, doesn’t mean that they didn’t get it from visitors. You can see this by comparing the case rates prior to opening back up, and after.

    2. Having said this, that puts Hawaii in a terrible position. As you rightly point out, Hawaii needs the visitors to stave off economic ruin because of the dependence on tourism. Again, as you said, that’s not going to change anytime soon, even with a good plan it’s going to take years to change. Also, keep in mind that 10 million visitors per year has made many of the places in Hawaii much more crowded than they were in the past. So more visitors?

    3. So what are the leaders to do? They have to balance between keeping the people who live in Hawaii safe and somehow keeping the visitors coming to the state. That’s a very difficult balancing act during a pandemic. It’s easy to take shots at what they have tried to do to maintain this balance, so I’m wondering what you suggest would be a way to accomplish this without getting a lot of people sick, and the hospitals overrun?

    4. Hawaii isn’t the only place in the US with this kind of problem, and everywhere I look where governors are trying to do a balancing act like this, it’s failing. That’s why we are currently losing 3k people per day to COVID in this country.

    Overall, I don’t understand why this pandemic has become such a political football?! Why can’t we all pull together and “do the right thing”?

    Personally, I love Hawaii, I’ve been going there for years, and was in the process of buying a property there to retire on when the pandemic hit. None of this has changed my plans, just delayed them until it’s safe to travel once again. While I was frustrated by the delay, I just kept in mind that the virus doesn’t care about my plans, took a deep breath, and reminded myself that this too shall pass.

  5. Aloha, this is a great time for Hawaii to rethink their future industries and work towards those goals. This is a wake up call to implement industry with tourism.
    Mahalo

    1. Any idea how getting the vaccine might play into all this??

      We have reservations for April. Fingers-crossed.

      Thank you!

      1. Hi Jennh.

        Thanks. It still seems a bit to early to say where vaccines will play. How available will they be and will people readily take them seem like the big questions.

        Aloha.

        1. Does anyone know if airlines can legally require proof of vaccination (2) as a condition of boarding an interstate flight/

    2. That is exactly what BOH reported on and what this program is doing: moversandshakas.org/

      I have applied for it but I think that they have been overrun by other people also applying as I have seen it reported on on local TV for the last week.

  6. A very well written appraisal of the situation.

    I have been very critical of the governor and the mayor during this crisis, not only for their handling of the Covid crisis but lack of any vision regarding post pandemic issues.

    No statements that even indicate they want tourists to return. Ridiculous comments about ‘Restructuring’ the economy. Hawaii’s unique location is uniquely suited for tourism,,period.

    No statements about managing tourism levels. Do not blame the tourists for the planning by local government that allowed an explosion of new hotels, condos and other resort facilities.

    Many of the people who talk about a return to Agriculture never picked pineapple or worked in a cane field. It isn’t going to happen.

    Finally, the question of ‘How locals really feel about tourists’ seemed to emphasize the feelings of those who are opposed to tourism. In 25 years of travel to Hawaii and owning property in Kauai, I believe that tourism is beneficial to the welfare of all.
    I believe the majority of the local population feel the same way.

    Tourists and vacation rental owners contribute substantial financial resources to state and county government.It might help if state
    and local government explained just how significant these amounts are to their citizens.
    cece
    As a vacation rental owner I pay higher real estate taxes than a resident. That’s ok, I understand that it is easier to tax a non-resident property owner since we don’t have voting rights. On the other hand I do not have children in school, I do not need any
    public assistance and I do not contribute to the crime rate.

    Do we need to better manage tourism? Yes! Do we need to control traffic? Yes! So please citizens of Kauai, insist that your
    locally elected representatives concentrate on those issues.

    Mahalo, for providing this forum for rational, non-political discussion.

    1. I spent the summer of 1980 picking pineapple on Maui. Does that mean I get a vote on Hawaii’s future direction? 🙂

  7. We applied for the Moves and Shakas program but they are only accepting 50 people. And only on the island of Oahu. This seems like a great program that could really help Hawaii’s economy. They should accept more people and offer the programs to other islands as well.

  8. Good article. I keep reading comments such as “I’m not coming to HI until they get their act together.” I understand everyone’s situation is different and the pre-arrival requirements can be, and are, stressful. I also understand the government officials in the state can’t seem to make up their minds. However, I have been on Maui for about 6 weeks. I’m so very glad I stuck with my plans. Yes it takes planning. And care and attention to the requirements. I had no issue with my testing (I used the provider via American Airlines). Once on island it’s fabulous. Fewer crowds, lighter traffic, and its Maui! Yes you need to wear a mask but where don’t you have to wear a mask? No different than most places on the mainland. Yes there are capacity limitations in stores and restaurants but again how is that different from the mainland? Ya’ll have choices. Personally I’m very happy to be here where I can get outside, see the beauty of the island. Aloha!

  9. The Sugar industry went foreign and it’s Not coming back. It should have been kept alive and Tariffs placed on imported foreign Sugar cane. Much like the Steel industry.

  10. BoH,
    Mahalo for political insight and economic/industry challenges.
    Mahalo for all the tourism information over the years.
    Mahalo for all your insights in general.
    Mahalo for keeping us up to date on Covid-19 and travel issues.

    I don’t see Hawaii returning to agriculture. Being an island has many challenges for industry. Alaska (sort of a modified island) has oil, commercial fishing and tourism. Both AK and HI are expensive places to live which can be limiting for developing industry.

    So, while waiting for Covid test results, I thought I’d comment on challenges. . . (long time reader first time commenting).

    Walgreens is the only “Trusted Partner” in Utah. It becomes more difficult to get tested as more of us plan on traveling to Hawaii. Walgreens requires one appointment for each of us. It took two days and the only available time was 41 hours before leaving for the Salt Lake airport. All the appointment times filled in less than 5 minutes after posting (at 5pm) for two locations 25 and 45 minutes from our home. The week prior had openings days after posting. The pharmacist said everyone is getting tested to go to Hawaii.

    All that said plus the challenges and changes in Hawaii as BoH has noted, my wife and I are thankful we can come this week. Last March we were on Oahu and scheduled to go to Maui when Covid hit so we skipped Maui. Rescheduled for late September/early October for Oahu and Maui thinking surly Hawaii will open by then. ha ha. . . Rescheduled for Maui 12/11 (if we get negative results in time). In April ‘21, we plan on Kauai and Oahu.

    My suggestions:
    More timely testing capacity is needed on the mainland so more of us can travel to assist with safely re-opening Hawaii and boosting the economy (more trusted partners and more openings/capacity for Walgreens).

    fyi my first time in HI was 30 minutes on my way to Vietnam. Returned in 2006 to 3 Islands. Now planning 1 to 2 trips a year every year.

    Again Mahalo for all your information.

    1. Hi Richard.

      Thanks for being a long-time reader and your first comment. Very kind of you. Have a great time on Maui!

      Aloha.

    2. I just got back from a week in Maui. I live in Utah and did my test through Costco / Azova, you do it at home and drop off at UPS. I did it the day before thanksgiving and had my results Friday night. My friends did Wallgreens and barely made it. Plus they had to keep calling in the middle of the night to get an appointment. Not a fun way to start off a trip but when the wheels touched down in Kahului, it was all worth it. Best of luck to you!

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