by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:00 AM ET, Wed February 5, 2025
Hawaii Governor Josh Green, M.D. released an additional $6.3 million to the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism at the end of January to support the state’s tourism recovery following the 2023 Maui wildfires and the expected downturn in tourism from California caused by the Southern California wildfires of this year.
The funds will go towards a tourism campaign to keep the state’s tourism industry growing and aiding in Maui’s recovery.
“We are all aware of the sustained effects of the Maui wildfires on our state’s tourism industry and the continued slump in West Maui hotel occupancies,” said DBEDT Director James Kunane Tokioka in a statement. “As we also foresee that visitor arrivals will be impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires, the tourism recovery campaign is intended to drive the visitor traffic needed to sustain local businesses and support jobs. We look forward to working on the next steps with our industry partners.”
According to a DBEDT report from 2023 on visitor statistics, the largest source market for Hawaii is the U.S. West, including California, largely due to the close proximity to Hawaii and the opportunity for nonstop flights. In 2023, over 5 million travelers from this region visited Hawaii.
In 2024, Californian travelers comprised 2.86 million of Hawaii’s 9.6 million visitors, with just over 866,000 of them hailing from Los Angeles.
By comparison, the U.S. East, Hawaii’s second-largest source market, saw 2.4 million visitors head to Hawaii in 2023.
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