Vicinity Group, a newly formed technology service provider focused on the Hawaii and Pacific island market, formally announced its launch Thursday. Vicinity offers a range of innovative cloud and cybersecurity services for local businesses and organizations.

Although a new corporate entity, the Vicinity team has decades of experience in the managed service provider space and has solid past performance in support of several island projects — many of them focused on integrating technology in support of rural and underserved populations on the neighbor islands. These include remote education infrastructure for the University of Hawaii, connectivity and distance education for the Lanai Culture & Heritage Center, and campus safety projects with the state Department of Education.

For more information on Vicinity, visit vicinity.team or email info@vicinitygroup.com.

Kauai outlook optimistic, report finds

Kauai is more vulnerable to an impending U.S. downturn compared with the state overall, but the county’s tourism sector will remain resilient, according to a recent report on the island prepared by the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization.

“Following a modest economic recovery, Kauai now finds itself at a critical juncture as the possibility of a U.S. recession looms,” the report said. “While tighter credit and rising interest rates have constrained demand and signaled a pending economic downturn, Kauai’s economic outlook appears relatively optimistic.”

The Office of Economic Development, which contracted UHERO to prepare the report, said the Kauai County-focused economic outlook was published for the first time since 2019.

UHERO said Kauai’s tourism sector is more exposed to a pending U.S. downturn and less insulated by the recovery of international visitors than Oahu.

“But Kauai’s inherent resilience, as a sought-after destination with a strong sense of local attachment, sets a solid foundation for avoiding an outright downturn locally,” the report said.

Room rates on the island have spiked considerably in the past few years and contributed to an increase in inflation-­adjusted visitor spending, UHERO said.

The researchers said Kauai’s labor force recovery is nearly complete and that the unemployment rate will average 3.8% this year and edge up slightly in 2024.

UHERO said large state infrastructure investments, particularly in road maintenance, will continue to buoy Kauai’s construction sector.

The report is available at 808ne.ws/3qnxK0c.