The current situation in western Maui and the circle of support As for the current situation in western Maui, a memorial service “K.puni Aloha no Maui” was held on September 1, and prayers were offered all day long regardless of race or religion. While the attitude of continued mourning has not changed, the visiting congressional delegation hopes to send out the message that eastern Maui is safe. Lahaina, in particular, which was devastated, was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii and “has been hit hard in terms of tourism,” but they are first talking with the local community and working on a plan for recovery in the state. On August 21, Hawaii Governor Josh Green and the HTA issued a statement urging people not to travel to western Maui (including Lahaina, Napili, Kaanapali, and Kapalua), while “other parts of Maui and the islands of Kauai, Oahu, Lanai, Molokai, and Hawaii welcome visitors. The senators also explained that “by inviting people to visit areas outside of western Maui, those areas can indirectly support Maui. He also said that due to the lack of direct flights, the number of travelers from Japan to Maui is less than 2% of the market. Therefore, the Hawaii Tourism Authority will first “focus on bringing back the overall Japanese market, which as of the end of July was at 30% of the pre-Corona level. Although there are several airline seat increases coming after October, including the introduction of ANA’s third Airbus A380 aircraft, Delta’s new daily Haneda-Honolulu route, and JAL’s increased flights to Honolulu, the number of airline seats will not even reach 65% of the former supply, according to the company. Therefore, the company will indirectly support Maui by returning tourists to the islands of Oahu and Hawaii, where there are direct flights from Japan. Mitsue Varley, Director of the Japan Bureau, who was in Honolulu at the time of the disaster, said that the state government, city and county governments, and the travel industry are working closely together in assessing how many tourists are on Maui and encouraging them to move off the island, and that the cooperation of airlines and bus companies for transportation, securing hotel rooms, and the initial response of the Red Cross and volunteers are all working closely together. He was surprised at the high level of risk management in Hawaii, including the speed with which the Red Cross and volunteers were able to respond. He also said that the Director General himself had a team working around the clock to provide assistance, and he was reminded that a system had been established to protect tourists even in the event of a disaster. On the other hand, regarding support from Japan, many people asked not whether they could travel safely now, but how they could support Maui, and a system was established within a week after the disaster to donate Japanese yen to a reliable source.
As mentioned above, the number of Japanese travelers to Hawaii was only at 30% of the pre-Corona level at the end of July, giving the impression that not only is the presence of the Japanese market in Hawaii declining, but also the Hawaii market for Japanese has also lost its presence due to the yen-dollar exchange rate and soaring accommodation rates. The presence of the Japanese market in Hawaii is not only declining, but the presence of the Japanese market in Hawaii is also declining due to the yen-dollar exchange rate and rising room rates. In order to address this situation, we have been working with JATA (Japan Association of Travel Agents) to provide support for obtaining passports, etc. In addition, an advertising campaign “Beautiful Hawai’i” was launched in June. The campaign will convey the beauty of the islands, encounters with people, and learning about history and culture. While he noted that “there are factors over which we have no control, such as currency exchange rates,” he said that in terms of the industry as a whole, “there is no other place in the world with infrastructure as good as Hawai’i’s.” While there are uncertainties around the world, such as disasters and pandemics, “There is no other destination where all travel agencies provide 365-day support in Japanese and packages can be traveled with such peace of mind,” he said. We need to reexplore this point,” he said, emphasizing Hawaii’s underlying strength. In terms of pricing, he predicted that as the number of flights increases, package travel will increase, and the number of rooms will rise, “we will be able to offer travel that meets the needs of travelers. Finally, regarding the issue of land buying and selling that has been occurring after the disaster in western Maui, he said, “Governor Greene also made an announcement about the new law, which states that exploitative and predatory behavior will not be tolerated and that we encourage people to report to the government any person who attempts to purchase land in an unscrupulous manner.
© Source travel watch