Has The Hawaii Tourism Industry Lost Its Clout? Amid pandemic, state and local government leaders do not defer to the state’s major industry
The last weeks of November were particularly cruel for Hawaii’s tourism industry. At a time when the industry was starting to recover thanks to Gov. David Ige’s pre-travel test program that lets travelers sidestep a 14-day quarantine, the governor delivered the industry a double whammy.
First, on Nov. 18, Ige changed the program’s rules in a move that shocked hospitality executives: travelers without a negative test in hand upon arriving would have to stay locked up for 14 days, even if the test indicated the traveler didn’t have the virus when the result came in.
