#Safe Travels Program

The leader of Maui district airports said Kahului Airport processing times and disorderly traveler incidents have subsided since Hawaiʻi’s Safe Travels program was lifted three weeks ago. Maui Now recently. “We had upset people every day. I don’t know that we went a day without someone upset.” 

Lt. Gov. Josh Green told Maui Now in an exclusive interview today that state officials are “hopeful and cautiously optimistic” that most COVID-19 restrictions could be lifted by the end of next month. Maui County Managing Director Sandy Baz, meanwhile, said the Safe Travels program may be eliminated in the next month or two, adding that nothing has been set in stone.

Maui County hotels revenue per available room, known as RevPAR, was $439 for August 2021, a 43.6% increase from pre-pandemic August 2019, according to the latest Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority’s Hawaiʻi hotel Performance Report.

Passengers over the age of 18 from every US mainland airport and on any airline may utilize CLEAR’s Health Pass as part of the Hawaiʻi Safe Travels testing and vaccine requirements for arrival in all airports in Hawaiʻi.

Tourism to Maui has rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic with 215,148 visitors in May 2021, but the number of tourists is still less than the 251,655 in May 2019, according to preliminary statistics from the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority. But despite having 36,517 fewer visitors in May 2021 than May 2019, tourist spending on Maui was $409.23 million, an increase of 2.2% from two years ago, the report said.

Whatʻs on the minds of Maui residents and visitors? Maui Nowʻs letters to the editors this week discuss too many tourists, bad visitor experiences regarding COVID-19 protocal, need for US to help with global vaccination effort and congratulations to a teacher for teaching the “Spreading Happiness” program to his students.

AARP kupuna activists who responded to a questionnaire in late May have overwhelmingly been vaccinated but say they will still wear masks in gatherings with strangers. Most also support the state’s indoor mask mandate and the Safe Travels program, which requires people coming to Hawaiʻi to get a COVID-19 test before traveling or quarantine for 10 days.

In February 2021, Hawaiʻi hotels statewide reported occupancy rate at 30.5 percent, which is up 8.6 percent from January 2021 but still well below the pre-pandemic occupancy rates of February 2020, according to the Hawaiʻi Hotel Performance Report.

Kupuna planning to travel or who have questions about the state’s Safe Travels or COVID-19 vaccination program can register for a free AARP Hawai’i webinar Tuesday, March 23 at noon.

Hawaiian Airlines is expanding its pre-clearance program to Japan and South Korea. The program allows travelers who meet Hawai‘i’s pre-travel testing requirements to bypass the state’s 10-day quarantine and additional airport screening in Honolulu by having their documents verified before boarding.

While Maui tourism is struggling to climb to pre-pandemic levels of a year ago, the Valley Isle’s real estate industry is surprisingly booming with a record high $980,000 median sales price for January.

s COVID-19 surges on Maui, with an average of 30 new cases per day over the past two weeks, County leadership has experienced an even tougher balancing act between protecting public health and not doing more harm to an already devastated economy.

Hawaiʻi Gov. David Ige approves Kaua‘i Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami’s request to place a temporary moratorium on Kaua‘i’s participation in the state’s pre-travel testing program. Maui County officials say they are staying in the Safe Travels Program “at this point.”

The Safe Travels Hawaiʻi COVID-19 Evaluation Testing Program found 45 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases as of Nov. 24, out of 20,253 tests conducted (or 2.2 per 1,000) – since the program’s launch on Oct. 19.

At Kahului Airport, with Thursday’s launch of Hawaiʻi’s Safe Travels Program, Maui Mayor Michael Victorino declared: “This is a new day for Maui County. It is a rebirth of our visitor industry.”