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BRUCE ASATO / APRIL 19
Beachgoers linger near the boat ramp at Kailua Beach.
At this time last April, Hawaii tourism would have been hurtling toward 900,000 visitors.
But Hawaii tourism has collapsed since COVID-19 started spreading and the state implemented emergency orders designed to collapse tourism to conserve local services.
As of Friday, only 3,762 visitors, which represent a mix of leisure and essential travelers, have come into the state over the last 30 days.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority reported today that 467 trans-Pacific passengers arrived on Friday, including 118 visitors and 155 residents. The count also included 92 airline crew members, 45 transit passengers who are catching other flights and 57 intended new residents for Oahu.
Hawaii residents were the largest category comprising 33% of the total. Visitors, which made up 25% 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.
In the 30 days since the quarantine began, visitors by air have averaged about 125 a day.
In April 2019, 856,250 visitors came to Hawaii.
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