With much at stake, some ponder if we should be assessing some of our fraying systems here. Education, tourism, traffic, housing, education, working from home- the list goes on. We should always seek to improve things via great forethought and action (plus accountability, often lacking locally… but that’s another story).
But right now, we need a reality check. People are suffering. We don’t have five years to revamp our major economic engine- tourism. Over 200,000 jobs statewide were supported by tourism last year, according to the annual Hawai`i Visitor Statistics report. By year end, an estimated 60% of Hawai`i households will be a single paycheck away from having trouble paying bills- rent, food, medical, transportation, et al. Over 700,000 residents could be in need of assistance, according to Aloha United Way’s 2020 ALICE Report (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). These are working households, added to those already in poverty and dire straits. And let’s not forget the mental stress this pandemic is causing. The tax on that silent threat is forthcoming.
Suggestions that hotels “simply” raise rates by 20% to help offset a 20% loss in visitors (or two million people annually) to keep our tax base strong through 2021 is naïve, illogical, and simplistic. As Waikiki and the Neighbor Island doors re-open, hotel beds will not be filled at 80% capacity any time soon. Room rates will be lowered as businesses try to entice tourists back. Economics 101. And if rules are followed, illegal B&Bs won’t bounce back. Some economists have projected a five-year path (whatever that path might look like) to get us back to the $17.75 billion that visitors spent here in 2019.
Yes, we need actionable, forward thinking. Call Elon Musk about a missile site; call the Mayo Clinic about an East/West medical consortium; convince Silicon Valley neophytes to set up an enterprise in paradise. Practical, alternative energy businesses might thrive here. There’s a lot of capital waiting for entrepreneurial opportunities today. Just don’t expect many new concepts to start impacting our economy for years. We need answers for locals in August and also in February of 2021. We need our statewide ‘ohana to ensure that Hawai`i stays vibrant, unique, and livable. Everyone will be tested. Not everything will get done (hello, potholes). Reality insists that we deal with today’s issues today as we search within and without for tomorrow’s opportunities.
Think about it…