#Hawaii Tourism Authority

The draft plan called “Tourism Support for Maui’s Recovery” was developed for the purpose of how best to respond to the Tourism Emergency Declaration issued on Aug. 19 by Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green due to the Aug. 8 fires.

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority will hold a community meeting to discuss proposed actions for tourism in support of Maui’s recovery. The meeting will be held at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Morgado Hall on Monday, Dec. 4, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

The State Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism released its September 2023 visitor statistics report on Monday, demonstrating the continuing impacts of the Maui wildfires.

“Pack your patience and grace.” “Do not enter the impacted area of Lahaina Town or take photos of the area, even from afar.” “Support local businesses.” These are some of the messages being shared by the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, as one of the main questions being asked by visitors is how they can support the people of Maui in its recovery.

Many vacation rental units continued to be unavailable in West Maui in September due to the Maui wildfires that occurred in Lahaina on Aug. 8, 2023.

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority and the Big West announced a multi-year renewal of a wide-ranging partnership that will bring three championship volleyball events to the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa on O‘ahu over the next three years.

Maui County hotels continued to be impacted by the Aug. 8 Wildfires, but still led the counties in September 2023 Revenue Per Available Room due to comparatively higher Average Daily Rate. 

Due to the Maui wildfires that occurred in Lahaina on Aug. 8, 2023, many vacation rental units in West Maui became unavailable for the rest of August, resulting in dramatic decreases in unit night supply and unit night demand in the West Maui area.

Maui County hotels earned RevPAR of $294 (-30.4% vs. 2022, -3.8% vs. 2019), with ADR at $564 (-8.6% vs. 2022, +43.7% vs. 2019) and occupancy of 52.2% (-16.4 percentage points vs. 2022, -25.8 percentage points vs. 2019).

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority is renewing its efforts to attract tourists from Europe with the awarding of a two-year contract for visitor education and marketing services for this market to Emotive Travel Marketing.

“As we continue to assess the needs of Maui’s people and how they envision rebuilding for the future, a Tourism Recovery Plan is critical to supporting Maui’s revival and the state’s immediate, mid-term, and long-term recovery efforts,” said Mahina Paishon-Duarte, Chair of the Disaster Response Permitted Interaction Group and HTA Board Vice Chair.

The Hawai‘i Visitors and Convention Bureau announced the appointment of Scott Pauli as Executive Director for the Island of Hawai‘i Visitors Bureau, an island chapter of HVCB.  Over his career, he held various leadership positions at luxury resorts on O‘ahu, Maui and the island of Hawai‘i. 

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority Board of Directors took decisive action at its monthly board meeting Thursday to approve $2.6 million in funding to launch the Maui Marketing Recovery Plan. The plan is centered around a new Mālama Maui campaign and prioritizes rebuilding travel demand from the United States market to Maui in the wake of the devastating Lahaina wildfires.

While West Maui and fire-affected parts of Kula remain no place for visitors — with teams still searching for remains from the Lahaina fire and the recovery in the early stages — the rest of the island was unharmed by the fires but now is reeling from the abrupt loss of tourists that is causing people to lose their jobs and businesses to struggle.

During a press conference Monday, Green said they would share when people could return to visit West Maui. As of right now, only returning residents and authorized emergency relief workers should come.

All non-essential travel to West Maui (including Lahaina, Nāpili, Kāʻanapali, and Kapalua) is strongly discouraged through the month of August, Gov. Josh Green said in his latest emergency proclamation.

The Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority reports that vacation travel to West Maui is strongly discouraged for the near future. Visitors in West Maui have largely heeded the call to leave the island. About 46,000 people have flown out of Kahului Airport since Wednesday.

A mass bus evacuation for visitors will be staged at Sheraton Maui Resort in Kāʻanapali this afternoon and take visitors directly to Kahului Airport. Five County of Maui buses, each with a capacity of 49 people, and five Polynesian Adventure Tours buses, each with a capacity of 50, will provide the transportation, with the first wave of buses scheduled for around 4 p.m.

The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, Maui Visitors and Convention Bureau, and Moloka‘i task force have postponed the Molokaʻi Destination Management Action Plan community meeting, originally planned on Tuesday, Aug. 15, at the Mitchell Pau‘ole Community Center. 

The public is invited to attend the conference portion, “Regenerative Tourism: Innovations and Pathways for a Sustainable Future,” on Aug. 8 and 9.