Imminent announcement on Hawaii tourism as PR nightmare continues.
308 thoughts on “Hawaii Tourism Reopening Plans This Week as Feds Get Involved”
Comments are closed.
Imminent announcement on Hawaii tourism as PR nightmare continues.
Comments are closed.
Aloha! My daughter just received an email today the the Kauai Marathon/HalfMarathon has been made a ‘virtual’ race event. Race is Sept 6, 2020. We really thought visitors would be going to the islands by then, it’s very disappointing. Any idea or thoughts on why race organizers would pull the plug already? We appreciate your Kauai expertise.
Mahalo!
Hi Suzanna.
Perhaps several things contributed to that. First, the state has not yet said exactly what will happen, and undoubtedly huge financial commitments were coming due. Next, how would distancing be maintained? And lastly, could they feel assured of enough attendance this year. So the prudent financial decision may have been to pull the plug now.
Aloha.
I appreciate your input. We will look forward to visiting when the appropriate measures are in place.
Mahalo
Any updates on mainland travel to Hawaii yet ? Ige is really dragging his foot . He said he’d make an announcement this week . Why wait til the end of the week? I’m thinking he’s going to delay it again !
I don’t understand how the Governor can allow international travel to Hawaii before HIS country USA. Hawaii is a part of the US not an independent country. Please move forward, your economy needs our tourism dollars.
Its pretty obvious this page does not like the governor and there may be good reason for that. However I am curious how since our the USA international borders REMAIN CLOSED how Hawaii can make a decision to allow any tourists from anywhere but the USA?
Mahalo Beat of Hawai’i for keeping everyone in the loop.
One thing I know for sure is that the resorts, restaurants, and everything else on the Islands have been preparing for re-opening ever since they were shut down.
I’m confident that when Ige gives the go ahead, the Hawai’ian islands will be ready to greet visitors with Aloha.
As they say in the West, let those ponies run.
Open up, and begin the recovery that’s needed for Hawai’i’s economy. As a 30+ year resident, I have all the confidence in the world that we’re good to go.
Keep up the good work!
Hi Pam.
Thanks!
Aloha.
Hi there, I have a question, if you please wouldn’t mind answering. Are longer term tourists welcome at this time? My family is planning to come for July and August. We are fully committed to the 14 day quar antine. Is this doable, advisable, and welcome? First of all, I want to be very respectful of local wishes and I’m worried about a negative response. I can’t figure out if this kind of tourism is welcome at this time and I’m looking for guidance. It would be fully in accordance with the state’s current orders. Would love some advice. Thank you.
Hi Carrie.
The governor has promised guidance on reopening this week we hope and expect that to be forthcoming. Thus you might be in a better position to plan. There is no problem coming at any point, but being sequestered in your accommodation for 14 days is a terrible way to start a vacation. Further until that is lifted, we understand there are issues with car rentals too. Please stand by for an update.
Thanks.
Hi Carrie – I can only speak for myself, but I would say yes! You seem to be type of visitor we are hoping for – considerate and respectful. A 14 day quar antine is not easy however – you can’t even step outside your hotel room! (Not even to the pool or the beach) I might suggest waiting until August 1st when you can arrive with a negative C0VID test (within 3 days of arrival) and you won’t be subject to the quar antine.
There is a very sad narrative being floated around about C0vid being a politically motivated plan, masks are ineffective etc. etc. Probably the most pathetic lie they use is that C0vid deaths are being over reported by Doctors and hospitals to scam medicare. The fact that the frontline Doctors and nurses have put their lives at risk to treat covid patients are now being maligned by the conspiracy theorists demonstrates just how sick and misguided these people have become.
Judging by some of the posts on here it appears these same people are trying to undermine all the good work Hawaii has done and their desire to reopen in as safe a way as is possible.
I look forward to hearing the plan as I’m sure everyone else here does, amazing we are already over 3 months into this, have to wonder how different three months from now will be…..we are all living in historic times!
You are dead wrong in your comment. Lifelong liberal, Science believing and mask wearing social dis tancer here . Hawaii is acting paranoid , unreasonable and not following any science based plan . They’re following the plan of a paranoid governor with no regard for science which touts a careful measured reopening like multiple other successful states have done . A vaccine may not come for 6-12 months . You are promoting staying in a bubble for a year. No other place on earth is doing this . No expert is promoting this .. Your state will never survive the level of poverty and deaths by suicide and starvation caused by the total destruction of people’s livelihoods.
Mary just to be clear I’m not suggesting Hawaii doesn’t need to open. It can and it will, as I said I’m looking forward to the
announcement this week. My post was directed at the extremists trying to minimize the seriousness of the pandemic and the many conspiracy theories floating around.
My take is we have to open soon and do it as safely as possible….testing, onboard masks and contact tracing.
I have no problem with systematically opening up to safer areas first but that’s a very short term step, ultimately we have to open to all in the near future.
I don’t think anyone realistically thinks we can afford to stay shutdown for an extended amount of time, the cost to society as a whole would be huge.
No. Hawaii will survive. On the backs of US taxpayers in the form of expanded unemployment, small business bailouts, and welfare. So sad.
Amen! I totally agree. I am a lifelong liberal as well and he have been distancing and wearing masks and sanitizing carefully during the pan demic. There is no reason that we should not be able to travel on August 8 without a quar antine especially if we test negative for the virus which we are happy to do as long as we are given a reasonable enough window before travel I believe in science yet Science has not dictated that we live in a bubble for a year. That is totally unreasonable and will cause far more health problems.
No regard to science? Mary S, you do realize that the US has not even seen our curve drop to the levels of other countries; it’s in fact gone back up. How’s the reopening of FL worked out? AZ? Other countries quar antined their people and dropped the curve. As a lifelong liberal, I’m sure you’ve heard that science indicates a 2nd wave is coming and will be worst than the first. Allowing people to do as they please for the sake of Memorial Day was just the start of it. With 4th of July coming, the surge is going to happen, because people just can’t help themselves; they do what’s in their best interest (have fun) at the expense of others.
Please familiarize yourself with our hospital situation. Please also let us know which states have successfully opened without huge increases in Covid cases. Also who said anything about staying completely closed for a year? Also read up on New Zealand, Scandinavia, Netherlands, Japan, etc. Our state, governor and leaders were praised recently in an article on MSN.com. How should he act when cases across the country are back up and we have very very limited hospital beds and already have had a HUGE shortage of medical personnel for years?? I don’t envy our leaders being torn between the economical vs. physical health of their constituents.
Mary, interesting post!
“They’re following the plan of a paranoid governor”: What on earth is the basis for that bit of wild character assassination?
“a careful measured reopening like multiple other successful states have done”: Name one. All the states that are reopening are having serious surges of new cases and hospitalizations. Read the news.
“You are promoting staying in a bubble for a year.” No, no one is doing that.
That “lie” about misreporting C0VID deaths isn’t a lie, it’s true. It is unfortunate that other lies such as masks being ineffective, are being circulated, and that it has become somewhat political. However, Hawaii has mishandled the situation for months, trying to use C0VID as an excuse to “reset” the economy, a vague idea that is misguided at best. There is no good reason why the governor and mayors have failed to lead and to make and announce a reopening plan. The DOJ is a joke, but it is good that pressure is being brought to bear on Hawaii’s indecisive leaders who are burning billions in badly needed revenues that Hawaiians need to feed their families.
“That “lie” about misreporting C0VID deaths isn’t a lie, it’s true. ”
You’re right – deaths are considerably under-reported. Nurses in some hospitals have been instructed to keep the reported numbers down. Just like the administration has pulled support for testing to keep the numbers down. (Trump administration ending support for drive-thru testing sites – Seven sites are in Texas, which is experiencing record numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.)
We have a trip planned to Maui for July 10th and I am hoping for a miracle. From what I know of C0vid it seems to me like a Hawaiian vacation, mostly spent in the water and on beaches, would be relatively low risk for transmission of the vi rus. We would gladly take any tests both on the mainland and there to insure that we are free. We’ve rented a condo through a local rental company, so would be fairly isolated except for food shopping. When out and about we would ALWAYS wear our masks, just like we do at home. I just hope Ige makes the call soon so we can make alternative plans if need be. I understand the hesitancy to allow tourists back, but the fact is that the vast majority of the mainlanders are vi rus free.
I’m in the same boat. Tickets for July 9th. Craziness. It’s my summertime visit with my niece whom I’m very close to, so I need to know whether to cancel our tickets or not. Hoping for a miracle as well, cause as much as I love Vegas (where she lives) we’ve looked forward to this since February, and have already postponed the trip after initial May dates. We will gladly both take tests as well. Just hoping for something definite very soon. We are now a month and a day out. Waiting game sucks.
it does suck but be patient? We had to put off our May 1-10 vacation and we are patiently waiting 🙂
UH WRONG there are over a million cases positive right now.
Wow…. Your playing right into their plan… ignorance is bliss.
SD, please do explain:
1. What plan?
2. Who are “they” (“their” plan)?
3. Ignorance of what?
” the fact is that the vast majority of the mainlanders are virus free.”
The fact is that since only a tiny portion of the US population has been tested, no one has any idea of what percentage of mainlanders are virus free. The fact that all states now opening up are seeing huge surges of cases and hospitalizations, indicates that no, the vast majority are not virus free. If Hawai’i opens up, they will be swamped in no time. Just as is happening on the mainland right now. (TX, FL, CA, etc.). That’s why NY, NJ and CT are all restricting visitors from over half a dozen US states.
I am anxiously waiting for this information. We were scheduled for 2 weeks in late April early May. I was very fortunate as I received 100% refund from HA and Redweek for our timeshare rental. I am hoping to re-book for the first 2 weeks in December. My biggest concern now is the response of the locals to tourists.
The locals will be very nice. If your worried about it dont go so the rest of us can.
If the tourists are like the Hawai’i-bashers on this site, one can hardly blame the locals for not being enthusiastic about them.
Governor Ige has made it obvious that he cannot lead in a time of crisis. And it is unfortunate for him that his failures, although intertwined here, are on two fronts: the actual C0VID crisis and planning to reopen tourism. And even more unfortunate, the people of Hawaii had to learn of this major flaw in this fashion.
Florida has been reopening for a few weeks already. The Florida Keys reopened for tourism. Our beaches have reopened. Osceola County even reopened vacation rentals (condo and home rentals serving the Disney World area). Restaurants have been open a month already and bars get to open today. Even Universal Studios is opening today and its hotels opened late last week. Even the big WDW is planning to reopen July 11.
Testing is ramped up in Florida and just about anybody wanting a test can get one. The state-run drive-up testing locations have been doing just fine. Governor DeSantis says that they can handle twice the volume of current demand. On top of that, Quest and Labcorp are testing without doctor referral, but it is only the antibody test. People with symptoms still need to see their doctor or go to the state-run testing centers.
Thankfully, Florida’s plans for temporary hospitals never had to be used, but the plans were in place and ready.
And lest we forget, Florida was the number one destination for people fleeing from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Louisiana when the outbreak was peaking. So there was a high likelihood of an influx of infected people. But it was all managed just fine.
All of that takes logistical planning. Florida’s governor did that and more.
I write all this so there can be a real comparison of these two governors: Ige and DeSantis. Since both economies are so reliant on tourism, they are a great pair to compare. However, one excelled and the other failed miserably. Unfortunately, Ige failed at the extreme expense of the people he was supposed to represent and lead through troubled times such as these. I certainly hope the people of Hawaii learned a lesson here and vote properly next time around so it is not repeated.
Let’s look at C0VID deaths per million population by state:
Florida: 124 deaths per million population.
Hawai’i: 12 (that’s twelve) deaths per million population.
It’s hard to see why anyone would think that the Florida approach has been better.
And it’s even harder to see why there are so many people from various states preaching to the people of Hawai’i about how things should be done. Especially with examples like this.
Amen well said. Its ALL political for these people. They STILL think its all a hoax to take the orange menace down. ITS NOT the ENTIRE world didnt conspire against Trump.
Tell that to all of the people that are out of work in Hawaii.
You are changing the topic somewhat. The topic is disease and death. Right now FL is going through a huge surge in cases and hospitalizations. (So much for the rosy post about how well it’s going there.) The fact is that mass disease is also devastating to the economy. If local people are sick, they can’t work, plus they have extra medical bills. I’m in San Diego. We’ve opened up a lot of things, but guess what: people don’t want to risk it. If Hawai’i ended the quar antine tomorrow and gave me a free flight on a full plane, I wouldn’t go. A lot of people feel the same way. Many people don’t want to sit next to some irresponsible bozo who has been running around and won’t wear a mask. You see them here in the parks and beaches, mostly from out of state, and we all wish they would go home.
Well said! I’m reading this comment a few weeks later and Florida’s model definitely doesn’t seem like one for Hawaii to follow. 🙁
Let’s look at some other C0VID deaths per million population by state.
New York has had one of the strictest lockdowns and slowest reopenings of any state in the country. What are their numbers?
1,611 deaths per million.
New Jersey, same story. What’s their count?
1,478 deaths per million.
Frankly, considering Florida doesn’t have the luxury of being an island where they can cut off all foreign sources of the vi rus and their first cases appeared not long after NY, they *have* done a good job keeping their death rate so low, a tenth of NY and NJ.
Hawaii will have to deal with the virus eventually just like Florida and every other state are dealing with it now. It’s their choice how much economic devastation they are willing to tolerate before a vac cine.
You left out the obvious parts: (1) NY and NY started restrictions very late. Too late to do much good. (2) NY area has far more inbound travelers than Florida. (3) NY & NJ are much more densely populated. (4) NY & NJ have gotten their rates down; FL is increasing rapidly. So much that they are now restricted if they go to NY/NJ/CT. (5) The topic was HI vs FL. Not NY/NJ.
Again well said. Add to that the accelerated rise of c0vid positives and deaths in Florida- and other early reopen states/lax testing phys. distancing- and the above comment is truly weeded out
So true! I thought same when I saw someone touting Florida as a positive example of how to reopen. Their numbers are skyrocketing with new cases. That’s the last re-opening model we want to follow. There’s no easy answer, but I’m actually pro the travel bubble with any place, foreign or domestic that has their curve flattened and whose citizen follow safety protocols. We need the inflow of money from tourism, but not at just opening to anyone from states or countries with high infection rates and risk the health of Hawaii residents. It may feel like a slap in the face to
Mainlanders, but it’s about Hawai’i trying to re-start tourism, lower unemployment and small business bankruptcies and keeping its residents as protected as possible by minimizing risk factors…
Thank you Dave. I seriously think these people don’t care that old people or blacks die. Sad to say this, but that’s my thoughts about these vacationers who are so critical. God forbid they have to postpone their vacations for old people who are going to die soon ANYWAY. And those out of jobs…”Granny will gladly sacrifice herself for my TVR, bartender job, Uber gig..” All the old or chronically ill can quarantine themselves instead of the tourists…that’s what I hear. What a wonderful nation we live in.
Yeah right Desantos and Florida are skewing the numbers intentionally. Florida and Hawaii are TWO completely different places. Florida is set up for everything Hawaii is NOT. You watch Florida especially hospitalizations are going thru the roof. Arizona and Texas both are going up. But hey by all means complain about not being able to go to Hawaii.
That is not true! I live in Texas and yes our cases are going up but our hospital capcity has not changed in over a month and a half. We are at 5% capicity. We are doing great here in Texas the economy is booming again. We are not seeing this huge panic about being open. I read these comments on this site usually several times a week and I must say Paul C your comments are so negative and angry.
With all due respect Brenda you might want to revisit your information about Texas. Just yesterday they announced hospitalizations are at their highest rates they have been. Arizona is also experiencing a huge spike.
Big panic about reopening? Who is doing that?
So you have a right to your opinion but I am negative and angry? I want to go to Hawaii too but I dont want things rushed so we are right back into lock down mode again. You can read my comments however you like but to make light of this vi rus is a BIG mistake.
By the way I read thru all my comments on this thread. Where do you see negative and angry? I am being smart. But I wont sit here and stand by while some call this all a hoax.
Paul C- The KEY is to respect all opinions and not Troll other’s you may disagree with. Not everyone to quote you “Amen well said. Its ALL political for these people”…I think you are one of “These” people- LOL
I’m wondering what Brenda thinks regarding new C0VID infections now. Just today, Texas reported over 5,200 new C0VID cases, and Florida had over 5,500 new cases. The deaths in Texas are projected to spike over the coming weeks and months.
Additionally, many C0VID survivors are left with many long term side effects. Sure, they didn’t die, but their quality of life is diminished, in some cases potentially forever.
I so wish that folks would tone down the negativity on both sides. BOH is simply trying to provide information on the steps to reopening. Yes, I have my opinion as well. Frankly, it scares me to consider opening, even under controlled conditions when the following headlines tell me what is truly happening on the mainland:
Mississippi chief health officer Thomas Dobbs warned that “it’s going to get worse” because little has been done to enforce restrictions in his state. “Prepare for not being able to get into the hospital if you have a car wreck,” he said, or to “have a heart attack and there not be a ventilator to put you on.
The European Union plans to blacklist American travelers. The bloc is lumping the U.S. with countries such as Brazil and Russia because the U.S. “has failed to control the scourge.” Visitors from other countries, including China, would be allowed to enter the region.
and in today’s news:
Across the United States, more than 36,000 new infections were reported by state health departments on Wednesday — surpassing the previous single-day record of 34,203 set on April 25. Texas, Florida and California led the way, with all three states reporting more than 5,000 new cases apiece.
Three states — California, Florida and Oklahoma — reported record highs in new single-day cases, while hospitalizations hit a new peak in Arizona, where intensive care units have quickly filled.
Hi Jim.
Thank you.
Aloha.
Good on ya Paul
Haters gonna hate
Thank you Paul. Nice to read you.
I live in Dallas. The numbers are skyrocketing. Texas opened way too early and now we are paying the price. I love Hawaii, but think they are being wise. We will all get to return to Hawaii next year. We must be patient.
FL is doing really great now too! *Sarcasm* All because people need to be out and about and do whatever they want, without care about your fellow (wo)man.
From the Texas Tribune: Texas is heading down a dangerous path, local leaders warn as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations surge
When Gov. Greg Abbott let businesses start reopening, he pointed to two metrics as encouraging signs: the hospitalization rate and the infection rate. Both of those metrics are on the rise in Texas. “To state the obvious, C0VID-19 is now spreading at an unacceptable rate in Texas, and it must be corralled,” Abbott said during a news conference at the Texas Capitol in Austin.
Houston: Hospital CEOs signed a letter to Houstonians Wednesday warning, “If this trend continues, our hospital system capacity will become overwhelmed.”