Christine Hitt
The latest report released by the Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawaii brings good news for the tourism industry on the island of Maui. It said that the Maui visitor numbers are recovering faster than it expected.
"The number of visitors to Maui collapsed following the August wildfires, but the initial recovery has been more rapid than we anticipated," the report said. Comparing to the previous year's arrival numbers, October's arrivals came in at 60% recovered, while November was already up to 80%.
The occupancy rate at hotels on Maui dropped immediately following the fire, but it "fully reversed by September." This is due to the number of hotel rooms that are being used to shelter displaced residents. Some transient vacation rentals are also housing displaced wildfire survivors, and with the County of Maui's urging, more of them may convert to long-term to house more.
So, while the outlook is promising for the tourism industry, there's still a great number of challenges for Maui on its path to recovery.