Despite the devastating wildfires that have caused extensive damage to parts of Maui, Hawaii other areas of Maui are open.
Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association, along with local Hawaiians confirmed that Lahaina and West Maui are shut down to visitors, but not the rest of Maui.
Residents and those who work in Valley Isle say they are grieving and suffering from the fires in Lahaina, but emphasized that Maui is open and still has a lot of beauty and culture in other areas not affected by the fires, KITV4 reported.
“We are centering on everybody who are victims and we say don’t come, but then it hurts those in the industry who still need to make a living to support themselves,” says Ka’au Abraham a Kihei, Maui resident. “There are still great places ready to embrace you with aloha, and kindness that we have.”
The Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association says they understand that many visitors are confused about whether they should come to Maui because of conflicting messages they see from social media influencers.
“We have to keep one thing in mind: people are houseless, people are suffering. We understand that,” says Mufi Hannemann, Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association President. “But to compound that if you don’t provide a opportunity for them to go back to work, that’s just going to make things worse and for the economy of Maui. It’s very dependent upon tourism. No other county depends on tourism as much as the county. So we have to strike that balance between doing all we can to restore rebuild lives, do what we can to help our friends and neighbors in West Maui but in terms of the rest of Maui, we are still open and welcome visitors.”
Hanneman met with the Board of Hawaii Tourism to ask the Governor to declare a disaster proclamation for the area of West Maui. However, they want to spread the word to visitors that Maui is not entirely shut down.
