DBEDT NEWS RELEASE: $6.3 MILLION RELEASED FOR TOURISM RECOVERY CAMPAIGN

STATE OF HAWAIʻI

KA MOKU ʻĀINA O HAWAIʻI

 

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TOURISM

KA ʻOIHANA HOʻOMOHALA PĀʻOIHANA, ʻIMI WAIWAI A HOʻOMĀKAʻIKAʻI

 

JOSH GREEN, M.D.
GOVERNOR

KE KIAʻĀINA

 

JAMES KUNANE TOKIOKA

DIRECTOR

KA LUNA HOʻOKELE

 

$6.3 MILLION RELEASED FOR TOURISM RECOVERY CAMPAIGN

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 31, 2025

HONOLULU — Governor Josh Green, M.D., has released $6.3 million to the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) to support a tourism recovery campaign to address the continued economic impacts from the August 2023 Maui wildfires and the expected downturn due to the January 2025 Southern California wildfires. Governor Green, at the request of DBEDT Director James Kunane Tokioka, has released a restriction from within the DBEDT budget.

The campaign will be a continuation of the state’s Maui economic recovery efforts and with the current California wildfires, also manage the anticipated impacts to the state’s largest source market for visitors. Governor Green and DBEDT Director Tokioka met with members of the Hawai‘i Hotel Owners and Operators Roundtable and Hawai‘i Hotel Alliance for industry input.

“I want to acknowledge the leadership of the Hawai‘i Hotel Owners and Operators Roundtable and Hawai‘i Hotel Alliance who discussed this idea with DBEDT Director Tokioka and I to provide resources to support the state’s tourism recovery,” said Governor Green.

“We are all aware of the sustained effects of the Maui wildfires on our state’s tourism industry and the continued slump in West Maui hotel occupancies,” said DBEDT Director Tokioka. “As we also foresee that visitor arrivals will be impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires, the tourism recovery campaign is intended to drive the visitor traffic needed to sustain local businesses and support jobs. We look forward to working on the next steps with our industry partners.”

About the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT)

DBEDT is Hawai‘i’s resource center for economic and statistical data, business development opportunities, energy and conservation information, as well as foreign trade advantages. DBEDT’s mission is to achieve a Hawai‘i economy that embraces innovation and is globally competitive, dynamic and productive, providing opportunities for all Hawai‘i’s citizens. Through its attached agencies, the department fosters planned community development, creates affordable workforce housing units in high-quality living environments and promotes innovation-sector job growth.

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Media Contact:

 

Laci Goshi

Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism

Cell: 808-518-5480

Email: [email protected]