Aloha! Welcoming back visitors to Hawaii…
Here’s some promising news! Hawaii is officially welcoming visitors back to the islands!
One of the many beautiful things about Hawaii is the tourism industry’s commitment to preserving what makes Hawaii such a special place to visit. The 1980’s brought a boom in tourism development, and with it, the realization that sacrificing the islands’ coastlines and natural resources in the pursuit of endless profit does not align with Hawaii’s values. In the decades since, Hawaii has only strengthened their efforts to preserve the land, culture, and heritage of the islands. Tourism is an important industry for Hawaii, but its sustainability and positive contribution to Hawaiians’ quality of life, is top-of-mind.
It should be no surprise then that Hawaii, who welcomed over 10 million visitors in 2019, took careful steps to ensure during the pandemic that they did NOT become a COVID hotspot that would put Hawaiian residents at risk. Now, Hawaii has relaxed their entry requirements -including no longer mandating a long quarantine for visitors- and has officially welcomed the return of visitors to the islands.
That being said, there are still some very particular rules to visiting the Aloha State, but nothing so challenging as to be discouraging. (With maybe the exception of Kauai… My personal opinion? I’d probably just wait to visit Kauai later).
Visitors who do not arrive with proof a pre-travel COVID test will be required to quarantine for 10 days. Inter-island travel is not impossible, but becomes trickier and requires additional testing, timed to your departure to another island. (The exception to this rule is travel between Maui, Lanai, and Molokai as they are all in the same county).
If this feels overwhelming, I understand. It’s a lot of information to process. (This is why having a travel advisor to take care of all these details for you is so valuable!) But if you’re itching to get out and travel, Hawaii is an excellent destination to consider. Here’s why:
As usual, the information changes rapidly, so I’ll keep you updated on major changes as they arise.
In other exciting Hawaii news, I completed the final education requirements this week to be certified as a Hawaii Destination Expert with the Hawaii Tourism Bureau! :) A Hawaii Destination Expert is someone who has completed their general Hawaii specialist training, and specialist training for each of the islands, so if you have any Hawaii questions, send ‘em my way!
Until next time, Travellers!
Hannah