Tourism Sentiment in Re-opening of West Maui

On October 8th, a phased reopening to tourism began for West Maui resort and hotel properties. We all recognize the situation's sensitivity and the need for all impacted, displaced, or at loss to indeed grieve and recover. However, there are ways to protect the area while reopening other parts of West Maui that were untouched by the wildfires in order to support the island economy and need for stability. A positive recovery hinges on a solid economy.

In collaboration with the members of Lahainaʻs community, the Mayorʻs office has created pre-arrival messaging including both the Mayorʻs Message to the Community as well as the Communityʻs Message to Visitors:

Mayor Bissenʻs Message to the Maui Community Video

Maui Communityʻs Message to Visitors Video

We have responded to media inquiries with current booking statistics collected through an internal survey with Mauiʻs properties. Our data shows there is no surge of tourism expected in October despite the re-opening clearance. The listed media publications below were derived from interviews MHLA gave during October 2023.