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☆ Maui tourism still hasn't recovered since the Lahaina fire. The manager of the resort where 'The White Lotus' was shot says now is a great time to visit.
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-04 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AdvertisementSome locals and business owners were quick to encourage tourists to return, citing the importance of tourism to the island's economy. According to the Maui Economic Development Board, around 70% of every dollar in Maui County is generated, either directly or indirectly, by the tourism industry. Tourism numbers from June 2024 show that nearly a year on, visit numbers had yet to return to their pre-fire levels. Tourists are still encouraged to act responsibly when they visit Maui, and there are opportunities to donate or help out with Lahaina recovery efforts. Shank said the Four Seasons is also encouraging tourists to actively get out and support the island during their visit.

Persons: —, Ben Shank, Shank, " Shank, Lisa Paulson, Paulson, Smith Organizations: Service, Business, Maui Economic Development Board, Hawaii Department of Business, Economic, Tourism, Hawaii State Rural Health Association, Lodging Association, Travel Locations: Maui, Lahaina Town, Maui County, Lahaina, Hawaii, cabanas, Europe, Hana

☆ Maui business owners need tourism to survive, but say visitors should rethink how they use resources: 'It's not Disneyland'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Now, businesses say they need tourism to stay afloat and keep their workers employed. Kawakami said in the short term, though, local businesses need visitors to come back. But right now, local businesses need tourists in the short run to survive, and some told Insider that residents urging tourists to stay away were misguided. What locals say relief should look likeOn Thursday, Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii said on Twitter that South Maui resorts "NEED visitors," adding "now we have housed virtually everyone, temporarily." AdvertisementAdvertisement"It was through the efforts of local community, not the government," Nakoa said.

Persons: Garrett Marrero, Marrero, Kyle Kawakami, Kawakami, COVID, we're, Kaniela Ing, " Marrero, Sen, Brian Schatz, Josh Green of, Green, Ing, Julia Tallman, Leonard Junya Nakoa, Nakoa, Tallman, She's, she's Organizations: Service, Maui Brewing Company, Maui Brewing, —, Green New Deal Network, Hawaii, Twitter, Maui Economic Development Board, New Deal Locations: Maui, Wall, Silicon, Lahaina, West Maui, Josh Green of Hawaii

☆ As Maui rebuilds, residents reckon with tourism's role in their recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Maui Economic Development Board says tourism is "irrefutably" the economic engine of Maui, which saw 1.4 million visitors in just the first half of 2023. About 70% of every dollar generated in Maui can be attributed to tourism, according to the board. Yet as the island looks to rebuild, residents like Keahi wonder what role tourism should play in the long road ahead to recovery. "So if they're saying Maui is closed, then there are no tourists coming in, and then we lose our jobs." "We just wanted to stay out of the way," Bailey said, adding that he understands the local residents "need time."

Persons: Hawaii's, Kapali Keahi, Keahi, Rafael Villanueva, Villanueva, that's, " Villanueva, Josh Green, Julie Sumibtay, Sumibtay, Tom Bailey, Bailey Organizations: Maui Economic Development Board, Tourism Expert, Las Vegas Convention, Visitors Authority, Las, Las Vegas, Hawaii Gov Locations: Lahaina, Maui, Nahale St, Long, America, Las, West Maui, It's, Kihei, Sacramento, California, Kaanapali, Oahu

The wildfires that leveled the town of Lahaina on Maui wiped out shops, restaurants and a hotel built more than century ago, burning across some of the most spectacular and wealthiest enclaves of the state. High-profile billionaires including Oprah Winfrey, Peter Thiel and Jeff Bezos all have homes on Maui. But the deadly blaze also destroyed something less visible yet vital to this island’s economic survival: modest houses and apartments where many workers running Maui’s booming tourism industry lived. The destruction in Lahaina has highlighted Maui’s longstanding challenge with housing for the people who work in its hotels and on its golf courses, without whom the island could not function as a beloved destination for visitors from around the world. “We already had a housing crisis,’’ said Leslie Wilkins, president of the Maui Economic Development Board.

Persons: Oprah Winfrey, Peter Thiel, Jeff Bezos, ’ ’, Leslie Wilkins, ” Organizations: Maui Economic Development Board Locations: Lahaina, Maui

New York CNN —The catastrophic wildfires in Maui have destroyed homes, churches, businesses and key cultural sites on Hawaii’s second-largest island. Maui authorities have asked tourists to leave the island and strongly discouraged nonessential travel to Maui. That means $4 of every $5 the island generates comes directly or indirectly from tourism, according to the Maui Economic Development Board. In 2019, 3.1 million people visited Maui. But that figure plunged to 793,000 during the height of the pandemic in 2020, according to the Maui Economic Development Board.

Organizations: New, New York CNN, Hawaii Tourism, Maui Economic Development Board, Tourism, Hawaii . Local, Maui Economic Development, Hawaii Tourism Authority Locations: New York, Maui, United States, Japan, Canada, Oahu, Hawaii, Hawaii Tourism Authority, Hawaii ., Tourism, Lahaina

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