The loss of Lahaina remains a wound felt across all of Maui.
Two months after destructive wildfires killed at least 97 people and razed thousands of acres of the island’s western side, Maui is fully open to visitors. Tourists are bustling along streets on the north coast, sunbathing on Kihei beaches and admiring the dazzling double rainbows stretched across Kapalua Bay. But the historic town of Lahaina, once West Maui’s prime destination, is partly shielded from view by dust screens, charred palm trees and brightly painted signs on the highway entreating people to “Let Lahaina heal” and “Respect the locals.” Checkpoints restrict residents from entering freely.
Lahaina had famous restaurants and lively bars that made it a linchpin of area tourism. But the businesses, like the town, were flattened. Without Lahaina, the path to recovery in West Maui, and islandwide, is uncertain, a handful of Maui residents in various industries recently emphasized.
“Unfortunately tourism is just such a big part of our economy. When something like this happens, the domino effect is catastrophic,” said Jasmine Kilborn, whose business, Holo Holo Maui Tours, specializes in private excursions around the island. The company website still says that travelers can “enjoy at leisure time in Lahaina Town.” Ms. Kilborn, 42, along with the company’s four other employees, are on unemployment. Their business has been decimated, she said.
State and local officials, mindful of the tragedy, have structured the West Maui reopening in phases. The first phase, opening tourist accommodations north of Lahaina from the Ritz-Carlton in Kapalua to the Kahana Villa in Kahana, began on Oct. 8; when the latter two stages commence has not yet been determined.
The area has changed. In Kaanapali, nearly half of the businesses at Whalers Village, an open-air shopping complex selling the symbols of a Hawaiian vacation — vibrant Aloha shirts, beachwear, accessories shaped like plumeria flowers — are closed. Nearby, there is plenty of space to lay down a towel on Kaanapali Beach. Occupancy for hotel rooms, time-share units and rental properties in West Maui is below 30 percent and lags significantly behind that of South Maui, a region south of Kihei, according to the Maui Hotel and Lodging Association.
Frankie Urias, 46, works at Joey’s Kitchen in Napili, a restaurant that is famous for Filipino-Hawaiian cuisine. He said the West Maui area, which used to be packed “shoulder to shoulder,” continues to be eerily quiet, despite government pleas for tourists to return to Maui.
“Lahaina was a big tourist attraction. Without that here, there’s the resorts — there’s really not much to see over here,” Mr. Urias said.
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Through a variety of fundraising efforts including mileage donations and collection boxes from customers and employees in Japan and throughout the U.S. including Hawaii and the mainland, Japan Airlines raised over $132,000 to support relief and recovery efforts for communities affected by the devastating Maui wildfires that occurred in August 2023. The airline held a check presentation ceremony to the Hawaii Community Foundation on November 2 at the Governor’s Ceremony Room at the Hawaii State Capitol building.
One of the biggest challenges in business is being able to respond to sudden disruption in society and economies. Such resilience can often be the key to a business’s long-term success.
After one of the most devastating wildfires in US history ripped through West Maui in early August, the island is preparing to fully reopen to tourists starting November 1.
Whether it’s in the planning of North America’s newest national monument — framing one of its greatest natural wonders — or in reimagined museum exhibitions, the country’s visitor attractions and experiences are ever more likely to be shaped and guided by its Indigenous peoples. From the Great Plains to the Californian coast, there’s a continent-wide variety of cultures to encounter.
Many people on the mainland remain unaware of the truth behind the Maui wildfires. They wrongfully believe that the entire island of Maui is closed – and nothing could be further from the truth. As of this writing, Maui’s upscale resort area of Kapalua is open – and welcoming tourists with its famous warm aloha.
We recently visited Maui in the aftermath of the devastating August wildfires in nearby Lahaina town, which was destroyed. The Ritz-Carlton, in the posh resort area of Kapalua, was untouched, thankfully, and had just re-opened on our visit in mid-October. You very well may want to put the resort on your radar screen, especially with the holiday season fast approaching. For sure, it will welcome you with the famous aloha spirit that the AAA Five-Diamond Ritz-Carlton Maui, Kapalua is famous for. And wouldn’t you love to see Santa on his surfboard?
Here is important travel news that everyone should know — the intoxicatingly beautiful island of Maui in Hawaii – our 50th state – is open and making a concerted effort to welcome compassionate travelers to the island right now. This comes in the wake of the devastating August wildfires that recently destroyed the town of Lahaina and surrounding areas. I consider this news as important, because so much discussion that we’ve heard of Maui on the mainland has been to a large extent misinformed and under the wrong impression: Many people believe that the entire island of Maui was affected by the wildfires, and as a result, there arose a misconception that the entire island was closed. Many people believe that they cannot visit Maui at all, and as a result, many could cancel long-planned trips to the island.
A couple claims that their visit to the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, California, last November ended in "horror" after the woman drank "semen-contaminated water."
All of West Maui will officially welcome visitors again starting Nov. 1 following the devastating wildfires that swept the island destination in August. It marks the first time since the fires began that all of the western side of the island — save the burned-out section of Lāhainā — will be open for tourism.