“Right now, it’s hard to think about the future and if we’re going to make next month’s rent,” said Owen Wegner, a line cook at the Grand Wailea resort in South Maui, 48km outside the burn zone. He has been called in to work only two shifts in the past two weeks.
The implosion of Maui’s economy, of which tourism comprises about 40 per cent, has been swift and severe. State economic officials estimate that the island is seeing about 4,250 fewer visitors each day than normal, representing a loss of $9 million a day. In South Maui, seven out of every 10 hotel rooms sit empty, compared with about two in 10 during normal times.
“We stress that West Maui is not currently the place for people to go, but the rest of Maui is open,” Richard Bissen, the Maui County mayor, said this week. Maui residents have remained consistent that visitors should avoid all of West Maui, which continues to be a hub for displaced families. Hotels there are housing more than 5,000 people who are not tourists, including families who lost homes, government relief officials, aid organisations and clean-up crews. Locals have also warned people against clogging up the highway in a quest to see the destroyed town of Lahaina.
In Paia, a colourful town brimming with stores and restaurants on the North Shore, shops are usually hopping, even on a weekday afternoon. There is typically a long line to order at the Paia Fish Market, a stream of people peering into the window at Mele Ukulele, and tourists finding shade on the front patio of Tobi’s Poke & Shave Ice.
“It’s really hard to navigate the grief and the shock of what horrific event just took place but then also to have to feel selfishly worried about finances at the same time,” she said.