Hawaii has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. Unemployment rose to Great Depression levels in the spring after local authorities ordered closures in March.
In addition to business closings and restrictions on large gatherings that are common across the country, Hawaii was also the first state to quarantine travelers outside of the state upon arrival.
This, combined with public aviation safety concerns, weighed on Hawaii’s tourism-centric economy.
The Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu has been largely empty for seven months. The waiting halls were marked by closed concession shops and public address announcements that put people in quarantine.
The scene is a stark reversal from before COVID-19. In 2019, around 30,000 people came to Hawaii every day, although the number approached 40,000 during the summer travel season.
That number has decreased dramatically since the pandemic began. During the first closings in the spring, the number of daily arrivals fell below 500.
The decline coincided with Governor David Ige’s order in March that all travelers arriving from abroad should undergo a 14-day self-quarantine upon arrival.
Although initially successful in preventing the virus from spreading, the measure came at a high cost. The decline in visitors has shocked the state’s $ 18 billion tourism industry, which is the bedrock of the Hawaiian economy.
Unemployment skyrocketed, reaching almost 24% in April and May.
Although the situation has improved somewhat since then, one in six workers is still unemployed. It’s people like Christina Hilfiker, who worked as a waitress in the popular tourist town of Haleiwa on Oahu‘s iconic North Shore.
Hilfiker lost her job in March and said she was struggling to make ends meet.
“I somehow hang by a thread and rely on friends and family. With a loaf of bread and a glass of peanut butter you can cover many kilometers,” she said in an interview.
Hilfiker is one of the thousands of Hawaiian residents who have experienced long delays in getting unemployment benefits.
As in many states, the Hawaiian unemployment system is overwhelmed and burdens applicants for weeks and even months with the financial and emotional stress of not having an income.
Hawaii’s local businesses are also struggling. They weathered not just one but two full lockdowns – one in the spring and a second later in the summer when the state saw a surge in new infections.
Many companies have been supported by federal benefits from the CARES Act, but these have long been depleted.
“It’s really devastating not to get help,” said Melissa Bow, owner of Via Gelato, an ice cream parlor in the Kaimuki neighborhood of Honolulu.
She said in an interview that during the second lockdown, many small business owners were at the end of their chances and struggling to pay rent for income.
“They’re just so tired,” Bow said of her fellow entrepreneurs. “No sleep at night, no income for a long time. No help in sight. They are thinking about closing their business.”
However, help may be on the way. The state of Hawaii recently adjusted its travel rules so that arriving passengers who tested negative for the coronavirus can skip the quarantine.
That’s significant because tourism makes up nearly a quarter of the Hawaiian economy, says Sumner La Croix, an economist with the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization and author of Hawaii: Eight Hundred Years of Political and Economic Change.
“This is a huge part and if that 23% doesn’t work it will look like a depression here,” La Croix said.
On the first day of the relaxed travel rules, the number of arriving air passengers more than tripled compared to the last few weeks, but is still a fraction of the level before the pandemic.
Key players in the Hawaiian visitor industry hope the relaxed quarantine will help revive tourism, but are preparing for a slow recovery.
Hawaiian Airlines recently announced layoffs for 30% of its employees. Ahead of the changes, Avi Mannis, the airline’s senior vice president of marketing, predicted the relaxed rules will entice some travelers to fly, but many are expected to remain on the ground through 2021.
“How quickly we can get people back to work depends on the success of public health interventions and tests and screenings the state puts in place,” Mannis said.
The importance of public health action has been affirmed by local hoteliers, for whom the lucrative end-of-year vacation season is usually a critical time.
Currently, only about half of the hotels have reopened, according to the Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association. The chairman of the group, Mufi Hannemann, said the willingness to travel was still unclear.
“I think October and how we deal with October through November will be crucial in determining what type of holiday season we have here,” he said, adding that a recent surge in cases would likely weigh on travel again .
A winter spurt of COVID-19 would be devastating – not just for hotels and other businesses, but the 80,000 Hawaiian workers currently unemployed.
Copyright 2020 Hawaii Public Radio
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