LAHAINA >> Visitor arrivals and spending for the state fell in August as visitor arrivals to Maui plummeted nearly 58% and spending fell 49% after the devastating Aug. 8 Lahaina wildfire — the worst natural disaster in state history and the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a century.

A total of 112,259 visitors arrived on Maui in August, the lowest count since February 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when 92,611 visitors came to the island, according to preliminary tourism numbers released Thursday by the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Maui visitor spending of $246.7 million was the lowest since March 2021, when spending totaled $262.3 million.

The Maui crisis affected statewide tourism results in August. DBEDT reported 769,163 visitors came to the Hawaiian Islands in August, which was down 7.3% compared with August 2022. Total visitor spending, as measured in nominal dollars, was $1.58 billion in August, a 9.2% decrease from the same month in 2022.

DBEDT has estimated the statewide economic cost of the fire-related downturn on Maui as between $11 million and $13 million a day, and has said a double-digit drop on Maui is expected through the end of the year.

Hawaii’s visitor industry as a whole is now bracing for a much longer decline that could stretch into the second quarter of 2024 in light of Maui Mayor Richard Bissen’s announcement Wednesday that West Maui will not fully reopen to tourism Oct. 8 as Gov. Josh Green had announced Sept. 8.

“As we take careful steps forward in an unprecedented disaster, addressing our West Maui visitor industry, their employees, and the local businesses that work in conjunction with the industry requires planning that will get us to a manageable re-opening,” Bissen said in a news release.

Bissen said he and his Lahaina Advisory Team now plan a phased reopening for West Maui, which will start Oct. 8 but include only the resort area that stretches from the Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua, to Kahana Villa. A date has not yet been set for phase two of the tourism restart, which will follow an assessment of phase one and will cover the resort areas from Mahinahina to Maui Kaanapali Villas.

The last reopening phase is for the area from the Royal Lahaina Resort to the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa, where a majority of displaced residents are currently sheltering. Reopening this portion last will allow more time to address housing options for fire survivors, Bissen said.

Balancing Maui’s and the state’s economic need for tourism revenues and employment and other positive aspects of tourism against rising resident sentiment against the visitor industry was difficult before the Maui wildfires. Now the stakes are much higher for tourism and government officials as well as community members, who are increasingly divided on their support for tourism.

Emotions were running high Wednesday during a Maui County Council Government Relations, Ethics and Transparency Committee meeting at the Westin Maui Resort & Spa, which stretched into the evening as scores of community members testified.

Many testifiers spoke about the incredible losses they have faced during and since the wildfires and their apprehension about reopening West Maui to tourism before they have had time to stabilize and mourn. Some cried so hard that their testimony was almost inaudible. Others spoke stridently from a place of anger. Many were fragile. Some of the testimony caused government officials to cry, too.

A major impediment to reopening West Maui for tourism is that many of those displaced by the fires are still living in hotel rooms because they have not found other housing. Prices for rental units are rising due to the increased demand from the Lahaina wildfires. Maui already had a scarcity of housing, and there are fears that housing costs will continue to rise.

Among those testifying was Tehani Kuhaulua, the oldest grandchild of longtime Lahaina resident Donna Gomes, 71, who lost her life as she tried to flee her home on Lahainaluna Road as the fast-moving flames consumed residential areas.

“It is time to put kanaka first. We have been silenced for far too long. Hawaii will not be Hawaii without Hawaiians and the residents who have lived here for generations,” Kuhaulua said to applause. “If we all get priced out, there will be no one to service the tourists that our government is so focused on putting first. Will they serve themselves when we are all gone?”

Kanamu Balinbin, a local football coach, testified about the anguish of the fire and how the community has stepped up to help each other.

“I have many emotions going on right now: sadness, worry and anger,” Balinbin said. “I feel like scrapping now, but I’ve got to hold myself. I’m really afraid when the tourists come that anger will get out not only by myself, but a lot of people here.”

Kai Nishiki, a community organizer with Maui Nui Resiliency Hui, said inviting tourists back to West Maui two months after the horrific tragedy adds insult to injury.

“Inviting tourists to be served mai tais by our grieving community at the same hotel pools residents are not allowed to use right now. Putting thousands in jeopardy without a community-based disaster preparedness plan for West Maui. Why?”

Nishiki’s voice broke with emotion as she asked officials, “Has West Maui and her many families not served these corporations well with billions of profits taken offshore over many decades? Can we not let her weep and grieve and grow healthy and strong for even a few weeks before putting her up for sale, forcing her to service tourists?”

Nishiki has said in the past that she is not opposed to tourism outside of West Maui at this time; however, she thinks Maui’s economy is too dependent on tourism. She wants more focus on creating a circular economy with jobs that support community needs.

Daniel Nahoopii, the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s interim president, CEO and chief administrative officer, said during the HTA’s monthly board meeting Thursday that after listening to the Maui community and the visitor industry, HTA is supporting the thousands of residents who work in the hospitality industry and business owners who count on visitor spending by ensuring that visitors return to Maui.

“We are doing so by making the invitation clear: Respectful, compassionate, responsible travel to the island of Maui is welcome and encouraged — more now than ever.”

Keith Vieira, principal of KV & Associates, Hospitality Consulting, said putting the community first is important, but the current messaging is far from clear. He said the phased-in approach hurts employees who were looking forward to a return to normalcy and the work hours that it supports.

Vieira said the situation is unfortunate, as visitors “heeded the call ‘come and help Maui’ and now are being told, ‘Don’t come.’”

“There’s also a big concern about what this does to the first half of the year,” he said. “We all knew in October and November that we would have few visitors. But now with the uncertainty, those looking to book now for the first and second quarter will book elsewhere, and that’s going to hurt the economy and the employees. It’s just illogical there weren’t that many visitors coming at least to Kaanapali anyway.”

Vieira said West Maui locations that have been put into the second and third phases are going to have difficulty re-booking guests who were due to arrive on or after Oct. 8 since Bissen did not announce reopening dates for those phases.

Jack Richards, president and CEO of Pleasant Holidays, said the mixed messages are creating issues for visitor industry businesses that had counted on an Oct. 8 restart.

“We are going to come in, and we’ve been working with rental car companies, the hotels, the activities people, and we are going to do a sale and market it nationwide. I think it will help. But we have to have the inventory in the hotels to be successful,” he said. “We are getting hotels saying relocate people out of Kaanapali to Kapalua. It’s changing every day.”

The impact of uncertainty showed up in the August visitor numbers. A decrease in visitor industry performance on Maui in August was partially due to government officials strongly discouraging nonessential travel to Maui in the days after the fire. Officials later revised their messaging to reassure travelers that only West Maui was closed. But the message was confusing, especially for travelers unfamiliar with the geography of Hawaii. It also came too late for airlines and hotels to pivot effectively.

Richards said the situation on Maui is now causing tourism declines on Oahu, Kauai and Hawaii island, which are seeing downturns for the end-of-the-year holiday season.

“We’re down 50% statewide for the festive season,” he said. “If it’s not the highest percentage decline, it’s right up there. We’re also already down for the first quarter compared to where we were statewide in 2023.”