Hawaii’s Summer Tourism Season Is Looking Promising…But economists say state officials need to do more to help the economy recover, including better messaging and loosening tight travel rules.
Hawaii’s economy is poised for a significant recovery over the next six months, as pent-up demand for travel coincides with vaccinations on the mainland and an expected new wave of federal stimulus money in March, two leading Hawaii economists said during an interview with Civil Beat’s editorial board.
“There’s a heck of a lot of money that makes a real difference in basically holding people up while we simultaneously see what we think will probably be an acceleration in the visitor recovery, mostly in the summer,” said Carl Bonham, executive director of the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization.
