#James Kunane Tokioka

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. 

Japanese visitors have been drawn more to Waikīkī than to Maui’s resorts, and a new state report calls for changing that by rebuilding and diversifying Japanese visitor demand.

Back-to-back Kona Low storms in March hobbled Hawaiʻi’s tourism economy, triggering an estimated $300 million in lost revenue as flooding, flight cancellations and attraction closures disrupted spring break travel across the islands.

Maui welcomed 223,227 visitors in February, an 11.5% increase over the same month last year as the island’s tourism industry continues its recovery 2 1/2 years after the Lahaina and Upcountry wildfires.

Hawai‘i residents can expect a steady but slower economic climb this year as high construction demand and robust visitor spending help shield the islands from broader global headwinds.

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 […]

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 […]

Twenty-five months after the Aug. 8, 2023 wildfires, there were 184,201 visitors to Maui in September 2025 compared to 165,322 visitors (+11.4%) in September 2024. Visitor spending was $436.4 million in September 2025 compared to $364.1 million (+19.9%) in September 2024.

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 […]

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 […]

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

Maui County’s economic recovery remains slower than other islands, particularly in tourism and employment, suggesting lingering effects from the August 2023 wildfires disaster that disrupted tourism and local businesses, according to the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism the 2025 Statistical and Economic Report, published in this first quarter.

Gov. Josh Green, M.D., has announced the release of $6.3 million restricted funds from the Dept. of Business, Economic Development and Tourism budget for a marketing effort to address the continued economic impacts from the August 2023 Maui wildfires and the expected downturn due to the January 2025 Southern California wildfires.

The Hawai‘i State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism Creative Industries Division has released a request for proposals toward the development of small, mid-sized and microbudget film and creative media projects.

Fifteen months after the Aug. 8, 2023 wildfires, there were 197,622 visitors to Maui in November 2024, according to preliminary statistics from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. This marks a 21.6% increase—or approximately 35,000 more visitors—compared to November 2023, though it remains about 15% below the visitor count recorded in November 2019, prior to the pandemic and wildfires.

Visitors to Maui island lag behind by pre-pandemic arrivals in 2019, according to a fourth quarter 2024 Statistical and Economic Report released by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority is continuing its work to stabilize travel demand to the Hawaiian Islands through strategic global marketing, while also ensuring tourism’s benefits flow to communities. As part of this focused effort, HTA is furthering its partnership with the Ladies Professional Golf Association through the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei being held this week on Oʻahu.