#Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism

The event will bring together Hawaiʻi farmers, value-added producers, food manufacturers, entrepreneurs, supply chain partners and resource providers for a full-day program focused on turning local food ideas into market-ready products.

Hawaiʻi  welcomed slightly fewer visitors in April 2026 than it did a year earlier, but those who came spent more—pushing total visitor spending to $1.77 billion for the month, a 4.8% increase over April 2025, according to preliminary data from the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

The 2026 Hawaiʻi–Japan Sister Summit concluded yesterday at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikīkī Beach Resort, bringing together more than 350 participants – including nearly 30 governors, vice governors and mayors – from Hawaiʻi and Japan – for dialogue, cultural exchange and policy collaboration. 

The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) Small Business Regulatory Review Board will conduct its next monthly meeting on Maui on Thursday, March 19, 2026. The meeting begins at 1 p.m. at the Kalana O Maui Building, 200 S. High St., Ninth Floor, in Wailuku. It will also be available on Zoom. This […]

The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism will debut the Hawai‘i Pavilion at the 2026 Winter FancyFaire taking place Jan. 11–13 at the San Diego Convention Center in California.

State officials are launching a round of industrial safety training designed to help residents secure high-demand jobs in the local film and creative industries. The University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges’ Good Jobs Hawai‘i initiative, in partnership with the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, announced the courses will begin in January. While the […]

Colby will assume the position Dec. 8, just three months after becoming Hawaiʻi’s chief state economist. 

The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) invites Hawaiʻi product manufacturers to exhibit at the Winter FancyFaire taking place Jan. 11-13, 2026, at the San Diego Convention Center.

The fourth annual Hawaiʻi AI and Cloud Innovation Summit drew nearly 500 professionals, educators, and technology partners to the Hawaiʻi Convention Center on Wednesday, highlighting the state’s commitment to exploring technological innovation. The state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism presented the event in partnership with Google Public Sector and the TRUE Initiative. Discussions […]

Rising tariffs and heightened policy uncertainty are expected to add to one-off inflationary pressures by late 2025 and into 2026, with the Honolulu Consumer Price Index projected to increase during this period. These conditions are expected to weigh on economic activity, keeping growth subdued through 2026.

Despite decreased arrivals to Maui, Maui County hotels reported improvement in July 2025 with island-wide occupancy improved 6.2 percentage points to 66.7% from 60.5% in July 2024. The Lahaina/Kā‘anapali/Kapalua region had occupancy of 66.2%, up from 57.9% in July 2024.

Colby most recently served as the tax research and planning officer for the Hawai‘i Department of Taxation, where he oversaw the research for the state revenue system, fiscal impacts of proposed legislation and macroeconomic forecasting.

Twenty-three months after devastating wildfires struck West Maui and Upcountry, visitors are returning to the island, although not yet at levels seen before the disaster. “As we approach the two-year anniversary of the Maui wildfires, tourism on the island continues to improve, but the pace has been slow,” said James Kunane Tokioka, director of the […]

Hawai‘i is gearing up to host the Fourth Annual Hawai‘i AI and Cloud Innovation Summit: Presented by Google from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 10 at the Hawai‘i Convention Center on Oʻahu. The event is being hosted by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism in partnership with Google Public Sector and the TRUE Initiative. […]

A resurgent construction industry in Hawaiʻi is building the state’s economy, even as tourism falters, and offers hope of boosting Maui’s recovery from the devastating August 2023 wildfires. This optimistic outlook comes from the Hawaiʻi state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism’s recent second-quarter statistical and economic report. “The growth in the construction industry […]

This year’s conference aims to bring together food and beverage manufacturers and supply chain partners to learn from industry experts about who to sell to, which Hawaiʻi-made products perform best and effective strategies for promotion and sales—with the ultimate goal of expanding their businesses beyond Hawaiʻi.

On any given day this past March, Maui saw 59,089 visitors.

Maui County’s labor force increased (0.3%) in March 2025 after declining 19 months after the wildfires.

The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) Community-Based Economic Development (CBED) Program has awarded an $8,000 grant to the Institute for Native Pacific Education and Culture (INPEACE) Center for Entrepreneurship. The funding will support nine Native Hawaiian-owned small businesses in participating as vendors at the Kākoʻo Hawaiʻi Merrie Monarch Market, taking place April 24-26, 2025 […]

Maui County highlights in the House Finance Committee draft budgets for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 include $1.6 million in both fiscal years for Kamehameha III temporary school in Lahaina and $12 million in fiscal 2026 and $6 million in fiscal 2027 for Maui Health System.