Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Thursday, November 21, 2024 76° Today's Paper


NewswatchTop News

More visitors landed in Hawaii Tuesday despite passenger quarantine

More than 4,200 visitors have come to Hawaii since the state’s 14-day mandatory quarantine for arriving passengers took effect a little over a month ago.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority reported today that 494 trans-Pacific passengers arrived on Tuesday, including 121 visitors and 177 residents. The count also included 100 airline crew members, 33 transit passengers who are catching other flights and 57 intended new residents for Oahu and six for Kona.

All but 12 of the visitors came to Oahu. Maui did not get any visitors on Tuesday, while Lihue had 4 and Kona had eight.

Hawaii residents were the largest category comprising 36% of the total. Visitors, which made up 24% of the traffic, included everyone with an out-of-state ID who plans to leave Hawaii after a period of time. Intended residents are those with out-of-state IDs who say they plan to stay here. The intended residents category might include military personnel, college students, people moving to Hawaii to live with their families, and homeless individuals.

On March 26, Hawaii became the country’s first state to implement a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine order for incoming travelers, which was extended to interisland travelers on April 1.

The quarantine collapsed tourism to the point that since its March start only 4,285 visitors, which represent a mix of leisure and essential travelers, have come into the state. In the 34 days since the quarantine began, visitors by air have averaged about 126 a day.

In April 2019, 856,250 visitors came to Hawaii.

By participating in online discussions you acknowledge that you have agreed to the Terms of Service. An insightful discussion of ideas and viewpoints is encouraged, but comments must be civil and in good taste, with no personal attacks. If your comments are inappropriate, you may be banned from posting. Report comments if you believe they do not follow our guidelines. Having trouble with comments? Learn more here.