Tourism

... According to the U.S. Travel Association, fourteen state tourism offices are funded either partly or entirely by a statewide lodging tax ....

... When compared to 2019, visitor arrivals in May 2021 were down 25.7 percent from the May 2019 count of 847,396 visitors, and visitor spending decreased 22.2 percent from the $1.41 billion spent in May 2019 ....

... Repeat visitors were more likely to be fully vaccinated along with college graduates and those with household incomes above $100,000 ....

“...the coronavirus pandemic has challenged the County to make many unprecedented decisions. One such decision was to reduce the Assessed Values of Hotel and Resort properties due to the catastrophic drops in occupancy experienced by that industry....”

... the highest percentage of respondents who said they do not think tourism is worth the issues came from residents ... who have lived in Hawaii for less than one year ....

... Gov. David Ige announced that effective July 8, the State of Hawai‘i will eliminate its pre-travel testing/quarantine requirement for domestic travelers to Hawai‘i who have been fully vaccinated in the United States ....

... Hawaii - Tahiti flights begin Aug 7 ....

... The Legislature’s decision to strip the county’s share of TAT revenues is certainly a stark change from just a few years ago ....

"...I support HB 862 as it provides the City the option of restoring a revenue base which has been lost – allowing us to continue services to our people...."

... States Hurt the Most by the European Travel Ban -- Hawaii 5th ....

... Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has introduced three bills to repeal and reform the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886 (PVSA), an outdated, protectionist law that harms American jobs and American tourism ....

... Social gatherings up to 25 people allowed outdoors ....

... The funds target preservation of Native Hawaiian history, heritage and culture programs ....

... Today, Gov. David Ige signed House Bill 1023 into law. It establishes and requires a marine recreational fishing license for all non-Hawai‘i residents ....

... Depending on tourism numbers, the user fee could generate anywhere from $14 million to more than $30 million over 15 years ....

... President Joe Biden recently issued two Jones Act waivers ....

... The governor also announced that beginning June 15, travelers entering the state who have been vaccinated in Hawai‘i may bypass quarantine without a pre-travel test ....

... A majority of residents favor limiting the number of visitors ....

... wait until the State of Hawaii has vaccinated at least 60 percent of residents before allowing higher occupancy ....

... A case of maritime-related common sense has broken out in Washington, DC. ...

... 484,071 visitors arrived by air service to the Hawaiian Islands in April 2021, down 43.0 percent from the April 2019 count of 849,397 visitors ... 

... DBEDT revised its economic growth projection for 2021 to 3.5 percent, up from 2.7 percent ....

... The Alaska Tourism Restoration Act provides the Last Frontier temporary relief from the 135-year-old PVSA, which requires foreign-flagged vessels carrying passengers between U.S. ports to stop in a foreign port as part of the itinerary .... 

... ADR was more than double last year’s level ($300, +138.6%), and occupancy was 50.8 percent (+42.0 percentage points), which would have been disappointing performance pre-pandemic ....

... Airports Division announces the operation of Phase III of the thermal temperature screening and facial imaging project at Hawaii’s five major airports that accept trans-Pacific flights ....

... If the 2,186-passenger cruise liner were redeployed or retired today, there would be no comparable ship to replace it under federal law ....

"... require any new PSP agreement with United Airlines or any applicant require the airline to refrain from outsourcing jobs ...."

... it's been deemed easier to work with Canada rather than those within the U.S. government committed to preserving the status quo ....

... The state’s Safe Travels platform went online today, allowing travelers to upload their travel information and vaccination data ....

... In a special Stadium Authority Board Meeting this morning (Thursday, May 6), the Board confirmed and voted for an early demolition of the existing stadium location ....

... States that are Recovering the Quickest from COVID-19 ....

... fulfills a Congressional mandate to biometrically record the entry and exit of non-U.S. citizens ....

... For many years, the counties and the State have been bickering about how much support from the State’s transient accommodations tax (TAT) they should get ....

... This was the first time in a year where visitor arrivals were up, but the year-to-date arrivals were still significantly down (-60.1%) ....

... Kahului, Hawaii, is the most expensive U.S. destination in which to rent a car this spring ....

... Akamai readers will remember this is exactly what happened to the old Hilo Hotel on Kinoole St during the 1990s depression ....

... House Bill 862 authorizes counties to impose a new hotel room tax of up to 3% ....

... Oahu residents now have an additional 19 months to get the REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and state identification cards before they will need it to board domestic flights and enter some federal buildings ....

... Hawaii’s Department of Taxation adopted rules in February 2021 to levy the state’s rental car tax onto peer-to-peer car sharing by interpreting car sharing platforms as being the lessor of the vehicles on the marketplace ....

... In March 2021, Hawai‘i hotels statewide reported similar revenue per available room (RevPAR), average daily rate (ADR), and occupancy compared to March 2020 ....

... the Biden administration agrees to designate more than 100,000 square nautical miles as critical habitat for the endangered humpback whale ....

... Qualifying interisland travelers may begin entering their information into Safe Travels Hawaii https://travel.hawaii.gov/ on May 7 for travel on or after May 11. ...

... HB1019, creating a new OHA revenue stream at the expense of small dive-tour businesses, is quietly heading to conference committee ....

... Since the launch of the Safe Travels program in October 2020, Hawaii’s tourism industry has been making a comeback ....

... A potential cause of the recent virus spread is the decline in the share of people staying at home and a rise in gatherings ....

... Accident Involving Inadequately Trained Pilot Leads to Call for Better Monitoring of Flight Instructors ....

“...Requiring so-called COVID-19 vaccine passports for taking part in everyday life — such as attending a sporting event, patronizing a restaurant, or going to a movie theater— would create two cases of citizens based on vaccination....”

... the proclamation includes mention of an anticipated new exception for vaccinated travelers that will become effective only upon approval by the director of the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency ....

... DPP will hold a public hearing April 6 on draft rules to regulate and register short-term rentals on O‘ahu ....

"... The Aa2 rating on the State of Hawaii's general obligation bonds recognizes the significant fiscal challenges posed by the current health and economic crisis...."