This article mentions there may be protests on Kauai over visitor arrivals.. It also mentions some are getting T-shirts printed on Oahu that state: “Aloha. Go Home. You’re killing us.”
I think the hostility toward mainlanders has always been present but was not as obvious as it is today. I think the pandemic has really ratcheted it up. It sort of smacks of reverse discrimination. I was unaware it was as bad as it is but since the pandemic began I have been reading public comments to articles in Hawaii online newspapers and was shocked and dismayed to read what they say about tourists.
Residents are conflicted about the return of visitors under Hawaii’s pre-travel testing program | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
The first tourists to travel in Hawaii who don’t have to quarantine start arriving today, but they are coming to a state that’s divided over their return.www.staradvertiser.com
When I arrived at OGG (Maui) on 10/17 my taxi driver was a former manager for Hertz. She mentioned she knows people who do not want tourists to return. Most are employed in non-tourist segments, or have family money.This article mentions there may be protests on Kauai over visitor arrivals.. It also mentions some are getting T-shirts printed on Oahu that state: “Aloha. Go Home. You’re killing us.”
I think the hostility toward mainlanders has always been present but was not as obvious as it is today. I think the pandemic has really ratcheted it up. It sort of smacks of reverse discrimination. I was unaware it was as bad as it is but since the pandemic began I have been reading public comments to articles in Hawaii online newspapers and was shocked and dismayed to read what they say about tourists.
Residents are conflicted about the return of visitors under Hawaii’s pre-travel testing program | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
The first tourists to travel in Hawaii who don’t have to quarantine start arriving today, but they are coming to a state that’s divided over their return.www.staradvertiser.com
Well at least there's a plan. Better than nothing but as someone who is supposed to travel soon I wonder how much notice will be given when they move to tier three which seems to be the tier that will actually affect travelers.
Thanks for posting this because I needed to hear it. I just don't have the stomach to handle being the target of protests. We will be quarantining at home for two weeks prior to traveling to make sure that we won't be bringing covid with us and we want to be as safe as possible for everyone. I have read the same comments about visitors not being welcome and I don't know what to think. I'm not even sure if we will hike this time as some of the trailheads have had some unhappy locals in the past. (These are publicly marked trails, not on private property). I can't imagine the climate if folks are extra angry.
So i just watched the 12pm news on Hawaii News Now and i saw nothing on protests. Ill watch the evening news and provide an update. Im not aware of anything major going on with protests. I can say on Kauai- they dont like any outsiders in general. They protested the superferry so us folks on Oahu dont come to their island. And they can tell im not from kauai when i go to visit. I dont know how- but they can tell. If you are really worried, come and visit us on Oahu, i feel like our island has more diversity with the universities and military on island. Its much easier for a tourist to blend in (as long as you put sunscreen on and dont turn red as a lobster). Im sorry you had a bad experience hiking.
We'll be on Oahu next. Your Kauai experience is interesting. I guess that people are just people. Thanks for the information.
Have a great vacation! Things will be fine. I don't know how getting through the airport will be and a few restaurants have shut down, but Oahu has a lot to offer in terms of activities and places to eat and shop. We all need a break from reality and itll be good for you to get away for sure.
www.startribune.com
Well that certainly seems like Hawaii Tourism Numbers are off to a new start. The number of cases and deaths in Oahu on Wednesday, the day before the pre-travel testing began, seems like a very high pre-starting number. There must have been some significant virus spreading around Oahu before the Thursday start day. Where did that come from?Thousands arrive in Hawaii on first day pre-travel testing
Thousands arrive in Hawaii on first day pre-travel testing
About 8,000 people landed in Hawaii on the first day of a pre-travel testing program that allowed travelers to come to the islands without quarantining for two weeks if they could produce a negative coronavirus test.
Richard
This is not encouraging news. People waited hours in line at the Maui and Big Island airports to get screened. And at Honolulu, they left passengers on the plane to prevent congestion in lines to be screened. All of those people queued up in line looks like risk even with masks on. The article comments that too many flights are arriving too close together in time.
Visitors face long lines, long wait times at airports on first day of pre-travel testing program
For some visitors, their Hawaiian vacation got off to a rocky start, having to wait hours in line before being able to exit the airport quarantine free.www.khon2.com
91 new cases on Thursday. That's not a particularly high pre-starting number. It is in line with the number they've had daily for weeks. This is the chart to watch. According to the Lt. Gov, it needs to stay below 150 average cases per day.
My thought about it being a pretty high number is in this perspective. Less than 1000 people have been getting off the planes for weeks possibly bringing the virus to Hawaii resulting in almost 100 cases a day. Now with 8000 or so people getting off the planes possibly bringing ?more additional cases/day to Hawaii. The people in Hawaii who are complaining about opening up Hawaii to tourists again are going to be looking at the bottom line number of cases/day and attempt to convince the decision makers to close up Hawaii again. It is imperative that that number be put in perspective of having almost 100 not 1 or 2 cases/day as a starting point.
Doesn't seem that many of the ~100 cases/day are related to the people flying in. But, either way, Hawaii has been pretty stable now for the past month as reflected in the graph, so it should be pretty easy to see if that changes (or how it changes) in the next 20-30 or so days. We'd expect to see it go up, but hopefully plateau below 150.
