State of Hawaii’s announcement ending the international portion of its Safe Travels program, starting November 8.
HONOLULU – John De Fries, president and CEO of the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), issued the following statement in response to the State of Hawaii’s announcement ending the international portion of its Safe Travels program, starting November 8.
“The new federal requirements for international arrivals build upon the success of the Safe Travels program, reflecting the solid foundation upon which Hawaii has been welcoming visitors back. These uniform national requirements will allow us to welcome back visitors directly from international locations, complementing the Safe Travels program that will remain in effect for transpacific travelers arriving from the United States.
“We are only able to reopen the visitor industry because of the measures taken by the people of Hawaii throughout this pandemic to keep each other safe and keep our community healthy. Thanks to your efforts, we can now continue the work of bringing Hawaii’s economy back to support our local small businesses and kamaaina working families.
“The recovery of Hawaii’s international travel market will be a gradual process extending well into next year and beyond, so we advise our tourism industry partners to continue being patient as visitors become accustomed to these new travel guidelines.”
