One year ago, wildfires left a path of destruction in the Maui region, which left 102 dead and countless people out of their homes and businesses.
Tourism, which has been a major driver for revenue in Hawaii, has also yet to recover.
According to the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), fewer than 4.8 million visitors came to Hawaii in June, which is a 3.7% decrease from 2023. Similarly, spending was down 4.8%. Understandably, the region that experienced the biggest decrease in tourism was Maui, which was down 23.8% year over year through the first six months of 2024. This was in the face of efforts from tourism boards to bring people back in an effort to revitalize the region and breathe new life following the devastation.
CoStar, which supplies hotel occupancy date in Maui, also backs up this data. Hotel occupancy in Maui was reportedly down 1.5%
Tourism company leaders in California and Hawaii are both stating that they are not seeing an improvement, and are predicting things may not recover until 2026 at least.
With the wildfires still fresh in people’s minds, tourists are feeling “uncomfortable” celebrating things such as honeymoons or destination weddings in the backdrop of the recent fires.
In the meantime, tourism industry leaders in Hawaii are trying to find a ‘balancing act’ between incentivizing tourism while not jeopardizing the local recovery and profit-based business.
But for potential tourists looking to take advantage of drastic rate cuts to get a discount, they may want to think again. Mufi Hannemann, CEO of the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association, rebuffed this idea. “You’re not going to see a big drop in rates,” he said according to Travel Weekly. Instead, they want to cultivate a more natural-feeling recovery while respecting the people and culture that makes Hawaii so special.
