[ad_1]
- 59.1% of the Hawaiian population is fully vaccinated, one of the highest rates in the United States.
- Even so, 164 new cases of COVID-19 and 7 new hospital admissions were recorded on Friday. In terms of people who have been vaccinated, this is one of the highest daily numbers since the outbreak of the virus.
- There are more visitors to Hawaii than in 2019, and Hawaii with the rest of the United States is still closed to international visitors.
The worst day since the outbreak of the pandemic was August 27, 2020 with 371 new cases every day. After Hawaii initially relaxed entry requirements for domestic tourists from the mainland USA in October 2020, the daily infection numbers remained the lowest in the USA, averaging 40-60 per day.
As of July 8, 2021, fully vaccinated visitors no longer have to worry about a negative PCR test to avoid a 10-day quarantine, and that shows with more than 30,000 arrivals per day.
There are currently more visitors to Hawaii than in 2019. Hawaii with the rest of the United States is still closed to international visitors. Japanese, Koreans, Canadians, Australians, and Chinese have always been a large part of the Hawaii visitor numbers, but they still don’t come. Domestic tourism takes its place and much more.
The surge in tourism was great news for the tourism-dependent economy of the state, with full hotels, long waits in restaurants, crowded shopping malls, and no towel spot on many beaches.
Last week reportedly triggered a wake-up call for those who believe the virus is now history in the state of Aloha. Aside from fully vaccinated people who don’t normally get the virus, it is now a virus among the unvaccinated. When you consider that the infection count is shared by only 40% of the population, today’s new case count is one of the highest in the state.
In the past it would have resulted in complete lockdowns. Hardly anyone seems to be concerned these days, and bars and other tourist facilities remain full.
Many of these new cases are related to the ten times more contagious Delta variant. Authorities appeared relaxed and tourists flocked in record numbers every day.
Hawaii Lt. Governor Green told a local newspaper the numbers were most likely the result of the July 4th celebrations of the US Independent Day and should decline this week.
While most of the world’s tourism offices are desperate for ways to promote tourism to their destination, the Hawaii Tourism Authority is doing just the opposite, trying to discourage visitors from coming to Hawaii.
Introduce fees for beaches, talk about increasing landing fees to deter future airlines, remove all advertisements, criticize tourists and discriminate against the tourism press, as eTurboNews has been the modus operandi since native Hawaiian HTA boss John de Fries took the helm has run the largest industry in the state, tourism.
Maui Mayor Mike Victorino recently made national headlines when he urged airlines to suspend their flight to Kahului, Maui, which has struggled to offset increased tourism demand with limited resources.
Local chat groups share horror stories about disrespectful visitors flooding areas like the Northshore on Oahu or Kailua. A tourist who touched an endogenous monk seal on the Northshore made national headlines and warned tourists to respect Hawaiian culture from Hawaii’s Governor Ige.
Hawaiian Airlines is emerging from the crisis strong and healthy.
[ad_2]
