With the economic troubles that have plagued the nation lately, people are being more frugal and spending less. This means that many families and individuals are cutting back on luxuries and extras such as vacations. For a tourism hub like Hawaii, that’s definitely not good news. While economists have previously predicted a downturn for Hawaii’s visitor industry, the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization now estimates that it will take a number of years before visitor numbers return to their past high levels.
This forecast has resulted from a combination of a loss of interisland cruise ships as well as significantly reduced consumer spending across the country. While the impact of this downturn is expected to result in only a modest decline of total jobs on Oahu, areas such as Maui County which are more dependent on the tourism industry will likely experience a greater negative effect. For instance, economists are expecting a 6 per cent decrease in jobs in the service and lodging industries in both Maui County and Kauai County. The Maui construction industry is also expected to be one of the most negatively affected sectors. Overall, Maui County is expected to experience total job losses of 4.4 per cent.
Of course, there are other factors which could influence the above economical predictions. Most notably, the impact that the swine flu will have on Hawaii’s tourism industry remains uncertain. Past experience with the SARS virus has shown that an epidemic in Asia can have a significant effect on Hawaii. However, economists say that it is still too early to determine exactly what impact the swine flu will have on Hawaiian tourism and economics.
Despite all of the bad news, however, there is still reason for hope. Certain sectors of the Hawaiian economy, such as health care and social assistance, are still expanding. Also, while it’s believed that visitor numbers will take several years to fully recover, the downturn is expected to stabilize before the end of the year. This means that it may not be too long before we start to see the situation beginning to move back in the right direction.
Posted in Hawaii Real Estate, Hawaii Tourism |
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June 4th, 2009 at 2:31 am
We are hoping for the best. The Hawaii Tourism Authority is currently hosting a bunch of bloggers to blog about Hawaii in the hope of encouraging others to come visit through the power of social media and word of mouth advertising. We’re keeping our fingers crossed - we hope for a turn around soon
June 4th, 2009 at 2:32 am
oppss. I meant to comment using A Maui Blog as a sign in … (ohanakai is another blog I am working on…)
February 5th, 2011 at 11:49 am
[…] news for me. Similar to the post I read, I’ve been reading other posts of the downturn in Maui on other blogs as well. Another interesting post that I read on another blog is different rules […]
January 12th, 2012 at 3:22 am
this is just sad. i hope hawaii regain its tourism percentage fast!