Hawaii Tourism Not Starting Up Until Late Summer

[bavaria]

I would say if you redid the poll after July 31st, you'll get a different response. Unless you're just polling retired or rich people in which case keep out the tourist for as long as possible because now you don't have to share the beaches with anybody else. Those with dwindled life savings trying to decide if they should use their lower unemployment checks to pay for food or rent will have a very different set of priorities soon enough.

Certainly reading other websites with more locals posting, the tone is very different from here. The situation is presented as far more dire elsewhere, and more aligned with what other tourism dependent markets are facing.

The challenge, as noted, is that giving only short advance notice for any change in plan will not result in immediate new bookings. I had a discussion today on the subject of a potential Japan bubble to Hawaii. The Japanese government is offering up to 20,000 Yen per day for domestic travel. Anyone who has travelled in Japan will understand the power of domestic travel in that country. So hopes for the Japanese market to return to Hawaii should be considered fairly low in the near future, with the exception of those who decide not to cancel already booked trips. The longer the period drags on without a decision, the more likely it will be that the Japanese cancel and book a domestic trip.

The other option is to expand the bubble to 'safe' feeder markets ie Australia/NZ, and to British Columbia. However, again the lead time to book a Hawaiian vacation is generally longer and it is not for most of you a spur of the moment decision. (I noted above that I recently flew from Japan to HI, which was just a weekend detour and quite common amongst my circle but not something most people do) And those places have their own challenges ie quarantine on return, discouraging travel, etc.

The reality is that any decision once made will have a ramp up time to see any significant benefits.

 

[montreid]

The reality is that any decision once made will have a ramp up time to see any significant benefits.

Tell that to Vegas. Somewhat surprised there, but very different cohort between a Vegas tourist and Hawaiian tourist. But the same concept. There is no other Hawaii either.

 

[anabelle]

I am a teacher and we moved our trip to August 9th. That is the week before I have to report back. We have eight of us so it is not an easy rebook. My son and his wife have already said that if it is not Hawaii, they will not come with us. That means trying to get refunds from the airlines. They can't afford to have that much money tied up without using it. I am going to give it until the end of this week to decide. I have heard that the governor might outline a plan by the end of this week. I know we are all pretty organized planners on this site, so this kind of unknown is maddening. I have a feeling that he will not open it up to mainland visitors until September and even then require testing.
Ana

 

[MickeyD]

Is it ethical? My personal opinion is that it's not. I think the travel bubble idea plays into a lot of racist stereotypes people in Hawaii have such as Asians being respectful and rich while Americans are well . . . "ugly Americans". More importantly, you don't bite the hand that feeds you.

Now I am confused. Last I checked Hawaii is part of America, so wouldn't that mean those living there are also "ugly Americans?" I find this very offensive and personally the last few times I have been to Hawaii I have felt they are trying to extricate themselves from the USA. If they want to be the "Sovereign state of Hawaii" so be it, but quit holding your hands out wanting OUR government to bail you out! Seems to me the US has sent quite a pile of money in the CARE act and for unemployment. They don't seem to be shunning that, but they don't want us "mainlanders" coming in and "soiling" their territory? Geesh! And corgi-monster, I am using third person here so you know I am not attacking you, I know you have been supportive and non-biased.

 

[SeanCLV]

Tell that to Vegas. Somewhat surprised there, but very different cohort between a Vegas tourist and Hawaiian tourist. But the same concept. There is no other Hawaii either.

As a resident of the Las Vegas Valley I am surprised too. Apparently there are a lot more people showing up than they had planned. On the other side of the coin there are apparently less workers coming back to work than needed because they are making more on unemployment than they would going back to work, or are afraid of getting sick, as apparently there is a shortage of rideshare and cab drivers. Notice I used the word "apparently" a lot as this is all stuff i've seen on social media, no hard data.

Now I am confused. Last I checked Hawaii is part of America, so wouldn't that mean those living there are also "ugly Americans?" I find this very offensive and personally the last few times I have been to Hawaii I have felt they are trying to extricate themselves from the USA. If they want to be the "Sovereign state of Hawaii" so be it, but quit holding your hands out wanting OUR government to bail you out! Seems to me the US has sent quite a pile of money in the CARE act and for unemployment. They don't seem to be shunning that, but they don't want us "mainlanders" coming in and "soiling" their territory? Geesh! And corgi-monster, I am using third person here so you know I am not attacking you, I know you have been supportive and non-biased.

One inconsistency I cited to Hawaiian Airlines (HA) when requesting a refund via letter was that there was an annual Hawaiian cultural festival to be held in Hilo in April and up until last week there was a message on the HA website (I took a screenshot of it) saying that anyone who purchased airfare for the purpose of traveling to that festival was entitled to a full refund. So for anyone traveling to that festival (arguably mostly locals), they were entitled to a full refund in advance of the cancelled festival, no questions. I just wish they treated all of their customers equally. And yes, I know that HA isn't state run, but they obviously coordinate very closely with the Hawaiian State government on policies and decisions.

 

[bavaria]

Tell that to Vegas. Somewhat surprised there, but very different cohort between a Vegas tourist and Hawaiian tourist. But the same concept. There is no other Hawaii either.

Hawaii is though a destination where more people plan and book things ahead. Few people except frequent return visitors just board a plan with little advance notice and wing it when they land. And as another poster noted, if businesses are not open, or have gone out of business, or are waiting until more travel returns, the options may be more limited.

For those who are fine with a trip with no commitments, then it could work. But for those who want to plan ahead, see everything because they may never return to Hawaii in future, they may decide to postpone to a later time when the full experience has returned. That especially holds true for those coming from further distances ie Japan, Australia, etc.

For me, sure I would hop a flight to Kauai with zero plans, or Oahu, if I could in July or August. The hypothetical Kauai trip would probably be pretty 'normal' for me if parks and beaches are fully open. The hypothetical Oahu trip would probably be 'ok', but I would expect many businesses not to be open.

 

[CaliAdventurer]

My brother just sent me an email from a friend there in Honolulu. The bill for being on a ventilator due to covid - over $1M.

 

[Galun]

https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/06/experts-test-passengers-to-reopen-hawaii-tourism/
This is an interview today or yesterday with the lieutenant governor. Looks like July 15 reopen is a likely scenario. Gotta get tested at a designated CVS a couple days before departure, temperature screen at arrival to the airport, contact tracing forms filled out and on record In case they need to find you. If you do that then no mandatory 14 day quarantine. That’s the system a lot of Asian countries currently use.

So, if they have been negotiating with CVS to put an infrastructure in place, maybe they are not as incompetent as previously thought. Anyways will look forward to announcements next week.

 

[jenmiller114]

https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/06/experts-test-passengers-to-reopen-hawaii-tourism/
This is an interview today or yesterday with the lieutenant governor. Looks like July 15 reopen is a likely scenario. Gotta get tested at a designated CVS a couple days before departure, temperature screen at arrival to the airport, contact tracing forms filled out and on record In case they need to find you. If you do that then no mandatory 14 day quarantine. That’s the system a lot of Asian countries currently use.

So, if they have been negotiating with CVS to put an infrastructure in place, maybe they are not as incompetent as previously thought. Anyways will look forward to announcements next week.

I read a similar article this morning about the CVS thing possibly being in place by July 15. The big question is who pays for the test. I am not opposed to it except that I have a family of 5 that adds a pretty steep price tag to my trip at $120/person. They said its possible they could use CARES money to help with the cost. Or even the savings in unemployment if a lot of people can go back to work. At this point, I am just glad to see a small glimmer of hope. Not that it helps with my July 1 reservations. But I am trying to book some alternate arrangements for end of July just in case they can get it figured out.

 

[Galun]

I read a similar article this morning about the CVS thing possibly being in place by July 15. The big question is who pays for the test. I am not opposed to it except that I have a family of 5 that adds a pretty steep price tag to my trip at $120/person. They said its possible they could use CARES money to help with the cost. Or even the savings in unemployment if a lot of people can go back to work. At this point, I am just glad to see a small glimmer of hope. Not that it helps with my July 1 reservations. But I am trying to book some alternate arrangements for end of July just in case they can get it figured out.

It looks like state level interaction with CVS. So hopefully there is a special rate for traveling to Hawaii and perhaps covered by insurance. A friend of mine got covid testing before elective surgery. The doctor ordered the test and it was covered by insurance. Not exactly equating leisure travel with elective surgery, but they are both discretionary.

 

[VandVsmama]

$120 for a test like that is steep. For our family of 4, that basically adds $480 to the cost of the trip. For us, that's just not worth it for a week's stay in Hawaii. I can go to Florida or CA instead for a week and not have to get tested, fill out contact tracing forms, have my every move out of the hotel/condo tracked and followed by hotel/condo employees, etc. There are MANY other beach communities in the continental US which would be so much easier to get to and deal with than that.

It's frustrating!

 

[SeanCLV]

So for my late July trip, i'll go get my test at CVS a few days before. Then on the day of the flight after testing negative, i'll go McCarran airport here in Las Vegas and co-mingle in the terminal with all of the tourists who have been co-mingling with each other in the various hotels and casinos on the strip who haven't been tested (since Vegas is open) before hopping on a plane where I will co-mingle with everyone on the plane, where we will all hop off in Honolulu to co-mingle at our various destinations. I guess if everyone is 100% compliant with wearing masks it could be ok, but still sounds risky.

But hey if Hawaiian Airlines doesn't want to give me my money back, it might be a risk I might have to take. If any locals complain about me being there, i'll direct them to the HA "Contact Us" web page, heck perhaps I can even get t-shirts printed up for my family saying we're there because Hawaiian Airlines wouldn't refund my money. For the people there helping me who don't mind me being there, guilt tipping galore! /S

 

[BriarRabbit]

Kauai cancels the Sept 6 marathon.

 

[kverdon]

I can see that they are trying to put on a show of doing something so they all don’t get voted out of office in Nov. It is not a very good solution when you look at it.
The only way for it to be effective would be to be tested just before you get on the plane and then quarantined before you fly. All the other passengers and crew would also have to do the same. Doing the test 3 days before you fly and then going into a crowded airport, TSA etc, well you were negative 3 days ago... You combine this with the type of testing they are likely to do which has up to a 20% false negative rate and the efficacy of this idea has to come into question. I read they are looking at subsidizing the cost of the testing using some Federal recovery money.

 

[SeanCLV]

I can see that they are trying to put on a show of doing something so they all don’t get voted out of office in Nov. It is not a very good solution when you look at it.
The only way for it to be effective would be to be tested just before you get on the plane and then quarantined before you fly. All the other passengers and crew would also have to do the same. Doing the test 3 days before you fly and then going into a crowded airport, TSA etc, well you were negative 3 days ago... You combine this with the type of testing they are likely to do which has up to a 20% false negative rate and the efficacy of this idea has to come into question. I read they are looking at subsidizing the cost of the testing using some Federal recovery money.

I saw a video from the HI Lieutenant Governor the other day where he was discussing his Travel with Aloha plan or whatever he's calling it to open up the state. He seems to the only one in the administration aggressively pushing a plan (at least publicly) to get things going again, and he's been pushing this plan since May. So I sort of take his ambition to get everything in place in a month and to get support from the rest of the state government with a grain of salt.

 

[SinCityMMAFan]

Mandatory 14 day quarantine for out of state visitors has just been extended to July 31st.

 

[montreid]

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020...officials-discuss-hawaii-coronavirus-updates/
Nuts. Turtle Bay resort out. Aulani still possible

 

[NJ Mets fan]

Mandatory 14 day quarantine for out of state visitors has just been extended to July 31st.

Glad I made the right call. Was supposed to arrive at Aulani on July 10th but canceled my flights and reservations today not wanting to wait on their Gov to make an announcement. I jumped on one of the few decent houses left in OBX, NC last night. House rentals there started going fast last week after they opened back up with people not wanting to fly. Had I waited until now I would have been screwed. I feel bad for the people of Hawaii that are suffering without jobs. I also feel bad that those waiting for their Aulani reservations after July 31 in August since they will have to wait likely another month before they learn if the quarantine is suspended. It feels better that I moved on.

 

[kverdon]

Yeah as much as we wanted to go it is so good to have it finally over with. Now onto Plan B July 4th to the 11th at AKL Kidani. We booked both so we’d have a backup plan.

 

[VandVsmama]

I saw a video from the HI Lieutenant Governor the other day where he was discussing his Travel with Aloha plan or whatever he's calling it to open up the state. He seems to the only one in the administration aggressively pushing a plan (at least publicly) to get things going again, and he's been pushing this plan since May. So I sort of take his ambition to get everything in place in a month and to get support from the rest of the state government with a grain of salt.

I saw the same video! I'm tired of their messing around and continuing as is. Our Hawaii trip was supposed to be at the end of this month and we rescheduled it to early March of next year. But after seeing that video and reading another news article about his proposed plan with CVS Pharmacy and the $120 tests and all that, my sister (who's supposed to go with us) basically said what DH & I were thinking, which was "No way am I getting any sort of lab test just to go on a one week vacation. Forget it."

So we aren't going. Time to cancel our airline tickets! I think that we'll be going to WDW early next summer instead now. Maybe we'll go to Hawaii a few years from now once they've figured out what the heck they want to do.