All Of Maui Except Lahaina Will Be Open To Tourists Starting Next Week
The county is accelerating the timeline for visitors and others to return to the island’s west side following the Aug. 8 fires.
Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said Monday that all of West Maui, except Lahaina town, will reopen to tourists and others starting Nov. 1.
The announcement during a news conference at the Lahaina Civic Center accelerates reopening the fire-affected area. The mayor had designed to roll out in three parts, with part one beginning on Oct. 8 with the Ritz-Carlton and areas from Kapalua to Kahana Villa.
Phase two would have reopened Mahinahina to Maui Kaanapali Villas. And phase three would have opened up Royal Lahaina Resort to the Hyatt Regency, where the majority of displaced survivors of the Aug. 8 wildfire are staying in rooms arranged by the American Red Cross with funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
No firm dates for starting phases two or three were ever provided, only that the timing would follow an assessment of the previous phase’s reopening. And residents staying in the affected areas have said some hotels had already starting booking visitors to stay there before the reopening.
On Monday, Bissen said phases two and three will be combined and launched Nov. 1 based on feedback from community partners, his Lahaina advisory team and the Red Cross as well as observations of how the last couple weeks have gone.
鈥淭he interaction of our visitors and our local community has been positive,鈥 said Bissen.
When Bissen originally announced the phased reopening on Sept. 27, he said the staggered approach was meant to do several things. It would allow residents to return to work, find childcare, settle children into temporary school settings, and 鈥減rovide for a more deliberate process to help with housing needs for the thousands in temporary shelter at many hotel properties.鈥
As of last Thursday, just over 6,800 people were staying in 35 hotels, according to Gov. Josh Green.
Three of Lahaina鈥檚 schools reopened to students following the end of fall break earlier this month. A fourth temporary school is under construction in Kapalua.
Bissen said the Red Cross assured him that temporary housing arrangements for fire survivors 鈥渨ill not be in jeopardy鈥 as a result of the Nov. 1 reopening.
As far as childcare, Bissen said, 鈥渨e have a commitment from some of our partners to work on that as well.”
The mayor said those who are not ready to go back to work should not feel any pressure to do so.
鈥淭his isn鈥檛 for everyone. Those who are not ready to go back to work, please contact their employers and seek the help and the attention that they need,鈥 Bissen said.
When Bissen and Green announced the reopening of parts of West Maui weeks ago, it was met with hostility in some quarters.
A group of West Maui residents, activists and politicians delivered a petition with more than 14,000 signatures to Green鈥檚 office on Oct. 3 asking him to hold off on opening the area back up to tourism. They said it was too soon because residents were still grieving the loss of 99 lives and more than 2,200 structures, the majority of them homes, in the worst U.S. wildfire in more than a century.
Politicians who outspokenly supported delaying the resumption of tourism in West Maui included Sen. Angus McKelvey, a fire survivor, as well as Rep. Elle Cochran, whose district includes Lahaina, and West Maui County Council member Tamara Paltin.
The Maui County Council voted unanimously in favor of a resolution on Oct. 6 urging the governor to delay the reopening.
鈥淚 hope it sends a loud message,鈥 Paltin said at the time.
Sne Patel, president of , a group that represents businesses in West Maui, was heartened by Monday鈥檚 announcement.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 going to definitely help make people feel as though they can come here again. There was confusion about whether they should come or not come,鈥 Patel said in an interview Monday afternoon.
That confusion wasn鈥檛 just among tourists.
鈥淓ven kamaaina from the other side of the island who haven鈥檛 come over here since the fire weren鈥檛 sure what to do,鈥 he said.
Whether tourism rebounds in West Maui anytime soon remains to be seen. Bookings remain soft and it could take months to rebuild the momentum that was lost, Patel said.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority says it is launching “new videos featuring a diverse cross-section of Maui residents welcoming mindful visitation and sharing how visitors can malama Maui.”
