#tourism

University of Hawaiʻi economist Carl Bonham warned Maui County Council members Wednesday that a stagnant job market and a precarious reliance on wealthy tourists leave the county vulnerable as it begins annual budget deliberations.

The resort finally got tentative approval to add 137 new rooms but must meet over 30 conditions related to water, traffic and protection of potential burials.

The Paia Inn and several other properties owned by Michael Baskin were listed in a bankruptcy auction slated for March. However, a trustee appointed to the case last week said it’s yet to be determined whether the properties will be sold or if there would be a reorganization.

A lagging economy will mean a tighter budget and tougher choices for lawmakers as the Legislature opens today.

The original law enhances and integrates Native tourism, empowers Native communities, and expands unique cultural tourism opportunities in the United States. The bill passed by the US Senate in December, makes key updates to the existing law that will help improve the program and make it easier for Native communities to access federal resources.

Economists say Maui’s tourism industry is “outperforming” other islands as visitors continue to return after the 2023 wildfires, a trend that could help cushion the island from an overall weakening economy.

Starting Dec. 15, loading and unloading activities will be allowed on a permitted basis. Some companies haven’t been operating since the fire damaged their vessel.

The Save Honolua Coalition wants to follow the success of places like Hā‘ena State Park on Kaua’i where visitor numbers were drastically reduced.

Outrigger Hospitality Group has announced a new partnership between Outrigger Honua Kai Resort & Spa and Event Network, the leading operator of experiential retail in cultural and leisure destinations across North America. Through this collaboration, Event Network will serve as the official retail operator at Outrigger Honua Kai, introducing a curated marketplace that celebrates Maui’s […]

Property owner says a business hotel could serve the workers who come to the park, which was created in the late 1980s to help ease Maui’s economic reliance on tourism and big ag.

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 […]

Some owners are selling, and related businesses like cleaning services are seeing a drop in jobs and income. “We’re just kind of in purgatory,” one property management company said.

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.

Eighteen months after the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires, there were 202,738 visitors to Maui in January 2025. The number of visitors to Maui in January 2025 was higher than January 2024 (175,005 visitors, +15.8%), but below January 2019 (233,422 visitors, -13.1%).

Commercial operators at Kā‘anapali Beach say the court order could force them to shut down if their permits are not renewed this year, jeopardizing jobs of people impacted by the August 2023 wildfires. 

With visitors choosing to go elsewhere, Maui County can expect “slow progress” in its economic recovery in the wake of the August 2023 wildfire disaster, according to economics professor Carl Bonham, executive director of the University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization.

Hundreds of property owners have been notified recently that they owe back taxes. The county has struggled to collect the tax since it was imposed in 2021.

Demand for constructor workers and contractors is outpacing the need in Lahaina, where a massive rebuild effort is just getting started.

Construction activity, including the rebuilding of wildfire devastated Lahaina town, will overcome relative weakness in tourism and help build a stable economic recovery, at a rate of 1.3%, for Hawaiʻi statewide, according to a forecast by economists with the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

Kyle Kawakami, chef and owner of the food truck Maui Fresh Streatery, is featured in a new Hawai‘i Visitors and Convention Bureau destination campaign titled “The People. The Place. The Hawaiian Islands.”