Hawai’i Tourism Now: Myra Galinato Answers Questions About the Future of Hawai’i’s Tourism Industry

Myra Galinato, general manager of Expedia Local Expert Hawai’i sits down with Patty Lee, operations manager for Hawai’i Airport Advertising and on-camera host for Pacific Media Group to discuss the future of Hawai’i’s tourism industry.

Expedia Local Expert Hawai’i provides activity and concierge services in over 40 hotels across the state of Hawai’i. The business suspended its operations in the third week of March and had to furlough most of its employees.

“We began to feel the effects of what was gonna happen when our Orlando Expedia Local Expert closed. They were reporting that Disneyland was closed…and we typically trend 2-3 weeks delayed from the mainland, so we knew it was just a matter of time,” Galinato said.

In a survey asking past guests their level of comfortability traveling to Hawai’i, early results showed that visitors had no reluctance traveling. However, visitor sentiment changed as more COVID-19 cases increased across the U.S.

“The longer we have been closed and more COVID numbers have increased, those numbers have changed…more than 60% of the people are not comfortable traveling to Hawai’i in a year’s time,” Galinato said.

Galinato is hopeful for the return of visitors and expressed gratitude for the Maui community’s efforts in respecting the stay-at-home orders and keeping Maui safe during the coronavirus pandemic.

To learn more about how Expedia Local Expert Hawai’i is navigating the coronavirus pandemic, watch the video above.