Tourism trickles back to West Maui, advice for visitors

BAIL. WHILE HE AWAITS TRIAL. TODAY MARKS THE 5TH DAY SINCE WEST MAUI REOPEN TO TOURISM. SO HOW TO BUSINESSES FEEL ABOUT IT? SOME SAY RESPECT FROM VISITORS WILL BE CRITICAL WHILE OTHERS WANT MORE TIME FOR THOSE IMPACTED TO HEAL. BRYCE MOORE HAS DETAILS. >> AFTER THE FIRES ON AUGUST 8TH DUKE SPEECH HOUSE IN LA HINA REOPENED ON SEPTEMBER 5TH WITH LIMITED HOURS BUSINESS SINCE THEN HAS BEEN PRIMARILY LOCAL AND THEIR GENERAL MANAGER SAYS MOST OF THEIR 200 EMPLOYEES HAVE BEEN BROUGHT BACK. BUT WE ARE STARTING TO SEE A AN UPTICK >> AND AND TOURISTS YOU'RE GOING TO COME TO MAUI. YOU KNOW, DON'T GO PARTY TO HEART. THERE'S A LOT OF GRIEF HERE. DON'T TAKE PICTURES OR ASK PERSONAL QUESTIONS. >> JO WHITE HAS TO MOPED RENTAL SHOPS, ONE IN KEY HAY AND ONE NORTH OF LA HINA. HE USUALLY AVERAGES 25 TO 30 RENTALS PER DAY. AND EVEN THOUGH OCTOBER 8TH HAS COME AND GONE >> BUT I'M NOT EVEN GETTING PHONE CALLS. I RENTED 2. VEHICLES THIS WEEK HAS SO FAR STARTING FROM MOND. READ 2 VEHICLES, ONE PARTY IT TOO, BUT OTHERS HAVE A DIFFERENT TUNE. THE HAWAIIAN KINGDOM, CLOTHING STORE IN WAILUKU TELLS ME THEY'VE SEEN MORE VISITORS SINCE OCTOBER. 8TH. >> SITES THAT COMES WITH MIXED EMOTIONS. >> WE GAVE WHEN THEY COME IN. WE SAY GOOD MORNING. IF THEY DON'T SAY GOOD MORNING, WE'RE LIKE, OKAY. IT WAS STILL GRAHAM WITH A SMILE. JUST THE WAY WE ARE. WE STILL NEED TO PROCESS WHAT'S GOING ON RACE HIS MESSAGE TO GET SOLVED. IT WAS TOO EARLY OPENING UP. >> DOMESTIC PASSENGER COUNTS SHOW A 38% DROP IN ARRIVALS TO MAUI DURING THE FIRST 10 DAYS OF OCTOBER IN 2023. COMPARED TO THE SAME TIME A YEAR AGO. ECONOMISTS AT YOU SAY THAT'S IN LINE WITH THEIR PREDICTIONS OF A VERY SLOW RETURN. AND WHERE'S ADVICE FOR VISITORS WHO ARE PLANNING TO COME TO WEST MAUI? >> UNDERSTAND THAT. YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT THE MAUI THAT IT WAS A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO AND THERE'S A LOT OF HURT. THERE'S A LOT OF PAIN. THERE'S A LOT OF HEALING, BUT THERE'S A LOT TO BE ENJOYED HERE. STILL IN A VERY RESPECTFUL WAY. >> PASSENGER COUNTS WERE ALSO DOWN FOR KAUAI DURING THE FIRST 10 DAYS OF OCTOBER. MUCH UP FOR HONOLULU AND HAWAII ISLAND. WE'LL HAVE A FULL BREAKDOWN ON KHON,

Channel: KHON2 News

Views: 29,291

Keywords: khon, working for hawaii, hawaii news, hawaii, hawaii sports, maui news, kauai news, molokai, lanai, big island, aloha news, aloha state

Id: u0W1_QmNY4Q

Length: 2min 22sec (142 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 13 2023