Los Angeles Clippers will not play in Hawaii due to coronavirus scare

The Los Angeles Clippers, who played in Hawaii the last three years, won’t return to the islands this year due to uncertainty over the spreading coronavirus.

Hawaii Tourism Authority President and CEO Chris Tatum said Monday that he has informed the Clippers that he would not bring the NBA basketball team back for an August appearance this year due to rising concerns about the coronavirus.

“I just didn’t think bringing 8,000 to 10,000 people to an arena was the most prudent way to spend the state’s money,” Tatum said. “Instead, I think we should be focusing on preparing and supporting the state on the corona­virus, which will get worse before it gets better.”

Tatum said that the “Clippers want to return to Hawaii in the future.” In the meantime some $650,000, which was budgeted for HTA’s partnership with the Clippers, is available to help improve tourism safety and security and for emergency marketing campaigns, he said.

The Clippers’ return is not the only major Hawaii event that officials are canceling or postponing in the wake of the coronavirus scare.

>> Organizers of the 13th Festival of the Pacific Arts &Culture, or FESTPAC, said Monday they will postpone the June event in Hawaii. FESTPAC 2020 was slated to come to Hawaii for 11 days in June. It’s not known how many attendees it would have brought this summer, but the event drew 90,000 to Guam when it was held there in 2016.

>> The Honolulu Festival Foundation organizers announced Friday that Sunday’s Nagaoka fireworks show has been canceled. The technicians who are needed to operate the show said they don’t want to come to Hawaii because it would violate Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent call for residents to refrain from travel abroad and for event organizers to cancel events over the next two weeks.

>> In late January, HTA postponed a China Summit that was slated for Thursday at the Hawai‘i Convention Center.

There will likely be more to come.

Decision-makers for group businesses are asking Hawaii tourism officials about opportunities to move events and refund policies, Tatum said.

“From my experience … groups will start to evaluate whether they should do their meetings,” he said. “It’s the coronavirus. It’s also the stock market drops. Hawaii also is a major incentive destination, and right now they probably won’t hit their numbers.”

It’s also the desire on the part of meeting planners and travelers to avoid large crowds, especially from places where the virus is known to have spread.

Some event planners, including those with FESTPAC, will be looking for a new date.

“FESTPAC planning will continue in order to ensure that Hawaii is prepared to be an outstanding host to our Pacific Island cousins and all who participate in this life-changing event,” said state Sen. J. Kalani Eng­lish, FESTPAC Hawaii chairman. “We want to thank all of our sponsors, supporters, and all those who have expressed interest in helping with FESTPAC Hawaii. Their assistance and ongoing support are critically important because even with this postponement, the festival will come sooner than we think.”

The Hawaii cancellations are in line with decisions that many other tourist destinations are making. ITB Berlin, the world’s biggest travel and tourism trade fair, scheduled for Wednesday to Sunday, was canceled Friday by Messe Berlin. The event had been expected to attract 160,000 visitors, including some from Hawaii’s visitor industry.