Maui Fires expose tourism tensions on Hawaii as summer travel continues

A tourist roams through burned cars on the streets of Lahaiana, Hawaii, following Maui fires. Photo / Getty Images

As Hawaii grieves the islands’ deadliest wildfires in living memory, tourist arrivals jar with the sombre mood as they turn up for summer vacation.

Over 90 people are confirmed to have died in the fires, including residents of the historic town of Lahaina - a popular centre for tourism on the island of Maui.

This weekend there were calls for tourists to stay away from Maui, but across Hawaii bookings forecast to be up on 2022, with plenty of tourists still planning to arrive through August and September and peak tourism season. There is a feeling from some operators and locals that leisure activities are “inappropriate” at this time.

On Monday the Hawaii Tourism Authority said that international guests have “largely heeded the call to leave the island.”

The state tourism agency told Hawaii News Now most hotels in West Maui have stopped accepting bookings and that around 1000 rooms have been set aside for first responders and those displaced by the fires.

Over the weekend, the calls to rethink were picked up by the media and local celebrities.

Hawiian actor Jason Momoa spoke out on Monday, telling tourists “Maui is not the place to have your vacation right now.”

Despite the sombre backdrop of national mourning, the rest of Hawaii continues to see a rise in daily tourist arrivals.

Daily arrival figures from the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism show that daily tourism arrivals continue unabated, barely changed since the fires broke out on 8 August.

This weekend saw 222 more arrivals to Hawaii than the week prior. In spite of the state of emergency being declared in Maui on Friday.

Burnt areas in Lahaina on the Maui island, Hawaii on Friday, August 11, 2023. Photo / Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources via AP

Although overall arrivals to Hawaii dropped slightly, down 16 per cent on the weekly average, daily international visitor arrivals increased slightly. With new arrivals largely made up of long-haul tourists,

With an increased appetite for travel post covid restrictions, visitor numbers are up 43 per cent on last year, boosted by the return of Japanese air links.

At a time of mourning, some Hawaiians see the unrelenting tourism arrivals as disrespectful.

On Saturday West Maui councilwoman Tamara Paltin complained that tourists had continued to arrive at holiday accommodation in the western neigbourhoods of Leiali’i and Punakea.

The day prior, a snorkelling company apologised for leading a tour along the shore from Lahaina, as searches for missing people continued in the waters.

“We’d like to apologise to the community of Maui for running our snorkelling tour on the morning of August 11th,” said Mark Elmore, President of Maui Snorkeling, who called the trip “inappropriate.” In a press statement the tourism company said its ship was later used for responding to the Maui fires.

Many arrivals this week are from long-haul tourist routes who have booked well in advance, and were either unable or unwilling to rebook their travel.

Although four out of every five dollars arrives in Maui from tourism, there is an ambivalence towards the industry.

Some say mixed attitudes towards tourism were present before the fires and have only been further exposed by the tragedy.

“You’re kind of raised to hate tourists,” one hotel worker, who wished not to be named, told the BBC earlier this week. “But that’s really the only way to work on the islands.”