The Surfing Goat Dairy, on the slopes of Maui’s Haleakala Volcano about an hour away from Lahaina, has seen business plummet 90% or more since the wildfire tragedy.
Thomas Kafsack, who opened the business in 1999 with his wife, Eva-Maria Kafsack, said about two-thirds of the dairy’s orders come from West Maui businesses and restaurants. The popular West Maui region also supplies about two-thirds of the visitors who come to tour the dairy, he said.
“The first week after the fire, we had some orders from South Maui. The following week there was absolutely nothing. Right now we are lucky if we are making more than $300 a day when we usually make $3,000 to $4,000 a day,” Kafsack said. “It’s been a triple whammy for us.”
Kafsack said by last week the slowdown already had forced him to cut hours by 25% for the dairy’s 16 employees. He said he and his wife are working 80-hour weeks to take care of the dairy’s 173 animals.
Kafsack said a social media plea to fans brought in enough online orders, 808ne.ws/surfinggoatdairy, to stay in business for at least two more months. But he said it’s critical that more online orders come in and that tourism returns to Maui swiftly not just for the dairy, but for businesses and employees throughout Maui.
“Some businesses have already closed here, and my biggest fear is that what we saw during the pandemic will repeat itself and we’ll have qualified people leaving the island and going to the mainland,” Kafsack said. “If this happens again, I have no idea what we will do when the tourists come back. We need a lot of campaigns to keep people on Maui working.”
He said he would like the state to consider funding a payroll protection program like the federal government stood up to help businesses keep paying employees during COVID-19. Still, he was pleased to hear that the Hawaii Tourism Authority on Thursday approved spending $2.6 million on a U.S. Marketing Maui Recovery Plan, which the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau will execute from now through October. The plan allocates $1.7 million for consumer messaging to let visitors know that most of Maui is open for tourism, as are the rest of the Hawaiian Islands. It invests $300,000 in travel trade programs and another $600,000 to market to travelers who plan on coming to Hawaii for a meeting, convention or incentive trip.
Gov. Josh Green declared that a tourism emergency exists in the state in his sixth emergency proclamation, which was issued Aug. 19. That declaration gave HTA access to a $5 million tourism special fund, which if needed could help the cash-strapped agency fund the tourism recovery plan.
HTA Chief Brand Officer Kalani Ka‘ana‘ana told the HTA board that the agency paused marketing for 12 days after the fires but resumed marketing on Aug. 21.
“That gave us time to assess, learn and listen, and that’s a really important part of understanding this work that we do in marketing and in branding,” Ka‘ana‘ana said. “Because if it’s not informed to, tied to or rooted to the actual feelings and sentiments on the ground, we are going to make an empty and hollow promise to our customer.”
State Sen. Lynn DeCoite (D, Hana-East and Upcountry Maui- Molokai-Lanai-Kahoolawe), chair of the Senate Committee on Energy, Economic Development and Tourism, said while the state is grieving, life has to go on. DeCoite urged the HTA board and staff to move quickly to stem economic losses.
“A message should be going out sooner than later. We have to reach out to the communities. While (there are) those that are suffering and grieving, (there are those who also) are looking for jobs,” DeCoite said. “Will they stay here, or will they be the next to relocate themselves to another state?”
State Rep. Sean Quinlan (D, Waialua-Kahuku-Waiahole), who chairs the House Committee on Tourism, said, “I know that it is a very difficult path that we are trying to navigate in bringing the tourists back to Maui to be at once respectful of this incredible grief, while also understanding that we cannot afford to add an economic disaster on top of the humanitarian one.”
HTA will attempt to strike a balance in its recovery plans, by implementing a Malama Maui campaign that targets “mindful travelers,” who will protect the values of Hawaii and are willing to develop regenerative tourism relationships.
Ka‘ana‘ana told the HTA board the campaign will partner with Maui residents to capture local voices, businesses and associations to thank them for visiting the rest of Maui and supporting the isle’s economy.
The campaign will include virtual media appointments and will bring media to Maui for familiarization trips. Maui ambassadors will travel to Los Angeles for a media blitz in early November and attend TravMedia’s International Media Marketplace in New York in January.
A main goal of the campaign, which will be executed by the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, is to stop economic suffering on Maui.
John Monahan, HVCB president and CEO, put out a message to members Wednesday detailing the “profound impact that this disaster has on our economy and the livelihoods of countless individuals who depend on the tourism sector.”
Monahan said the “sobering” economic impact figures from HVCB, DBEDT and HTA include:
>> $9 million estimated economic loss per day.
>> Reduction of 4,250 visitors per day.
>> West Maui accounts for 15% of Hawaii’s tourism economy.
Economic conditions are worsening fast. While July marked the 29th consecutive month with year-over-year growth in visitor arrivals, the state Business, Economic Development and Tourism Director James Kunane Tokioka said Thursday that he expects August tourism will be significantly affected by the wildfires on Maui.
Some 932,713 visitors arrived in the Hawaiian Islands in July, an increase of 1.5% from July 2022, according to preliminary visitor statistics released Thursday by DBEDT.
July arrivals were recovered 93.7% to pre-pandemic July 2019 arrivals. Visitors in July spent $2.05 billion in nominal dollars, up 2.8% from July 2022 and up 20.7% from July 2019.
Tokioka said since Aug. 9, 88 trans-Pacific flights have been canceled, and the daily domestic passenger count to Maui has decreased 70%.
Tokioka added, “While we are requesting that visitors avoid West Maui (including Lahaina, Napili, Ka‘anapali, and Kapalua) at this time, we encourage visitors to travel to the rest of Maui (including Kahului, Wailuku, Kihei, Wailea, Makena, Paia and Hana) and other Hawaiian Islands and support our local economy and the well-being of Maui and its recovery.”
BY THE NUMBERS
Economic impact figures include:
$9 million
Estimated economic loss per day
4,250
Reduction of visitors per day
15%
Percentage West Maui accounts for in Hawaii’s tourism economy
Source: HVCB, DBEDT and HTA
