Big Island Economy Is ‘Getting By’ As The Pandemic Persists…While tourism-fueled businesses struggle from tighter travel restrictions, the housing market has remained healthy and aquaculture continues to grow.
Hawaii County’s economy hasn’t been hit as hard as neighboring islands, data shows, but that’s little solace for businesses on the Big Island fighting through the worst economic landscape in memory.
And while the Oct. 15 reopening of tourism injected financial life into the state, those same businesses are wary of what could be ahead. They know that increased COVID-19 cases on the mainland bring tighter travel restrictions to Hawaii, which means tourism could be strangled to another standstill this winter — typically peak visitor season — just when it looked like it was starting to recover.
