We’ve certainly had a year to remember…or forget. The near end of 2020 is a welcome sign for many. We’ve all spent a lot of time anxious about our health, our community, and our local economy. With a huge dependence on tourism, Kona, Hawaii, has been hit incredibly hard by the pandemic’s effects on our...Read More

Tourism in Kona, Hawaii, is the lifeblood of our economy. Hotels, restaurants, small retail, and all the businesses that are supported by them have had a significant part of their livelihood taken away from them since mid-March. Tour businesses and most hotels have had zero revenue, and most restaurants are operating at a fraction of...Read More

Kona, Hawaii’s economy has been hit very hard by State and County’s response to the COVID pandemic. We’re somewhere around 16% unemployment in Hawaii County, which I would presume is higher in the tourism-dependent Kona region. Many businesses have closed, and many are operating at only a fraction of capacity. Tourism is down about 99%....Read More

We all know this is a difficult time for many businesses. Some have seen their income drop precipitously, while others have seen more modest declines. The spirit of the business community is also quite dismal, with many that I know of questioning whether they want to continue into the future. Despite some signs of hope,...Read More

Where We Are Now – September 2020 Of all the businesses that have been hit hard in Hawaii during the COVID pandemic, tourism businesses have suffered the most. The reason is simple: the State of Hawaii has imposed a mandatory 14-day quarantine on anybody coming into Hawaii. This has effectively killed any tourism to Hawaii:...Read More