Locals ambivalent as Hawaii reopens
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Line-Noue Memea Kruse lives on Oahu鈥檚 famed North Shore, where marveling at sea turtles, epic waves and sunsets that paint the sky orange and purple are a must for many tourists in Hawaii.
After the islands required a two-week quarantine for travelers amid the coronavirus pandemic, Kruse rejoiced in the little things as the number of tourists dramatically dropped. It took her 35 minutes to drive to Walmart, instead of spending hours stuck in traffic as tourists gawked at turtles on the beach.
But tourist-reliant Hawaii has now eased the restrictions imposed in March, allowing visitors to produce a negative COVID-19 test to avoid the quarantine.
鈥淚 can literally tell you the day that they opened up,鈥 Kruse said. She was driving to Walmart on October 15, when the travel restrictions eased, and 鈥淚 waited for hours again.鈥
For seven months, locals had taken back spots normally crowded with visitors. They could enjoy Waikiki鈥檚 famous beaches without sunburned tourists and could walk on sidewalks without hordes of visitors awestruck by clear blue water, white sand and the other trappings of a tropical getaway.
Locals, many of whom depend on tourism jobs, have long felt ambivalence about living in an island paradise that relies heavily on visitor spending, but many saw an upshot to a health crisis that threatened their livelihoods 鈥 reclaiming favorite areas long overrun by crowds.
Before the pandemic, as many as 30,000 visitors arrived a day. That dropped to several thousand after the quarantine mandate.
鈥淲hat the pandemic did was give us all a moment to pause, a number of months, to rethink everything,鈥 said state senator J. Kalani English. 鈥淲hat it proves for us is that the old model of tourism, which is, you know, bringing on mass a 11 million visitors a year, didn鈥檛 work and people were tired of it.鈥
Some residents are worried as cases surge in other parts of the US, but Hawaii officials say an 鈥渆xtremely small number鈥 who get tested before traveling are diagnosed after they arrive. Last Monday, 10,515 passengers arrived, with nearly 5,300 indicating they were coming for a vacation, the Hawaii Tourism Authority said.
For English, who represents rural parts of Maui, fewer tourists allowed him to reconnect to Hamoa Beach, his 鈥減layground鈥 as a child near where his family has lived for generations.
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 been down there for a number of years because, frankly, it was just too crowded,鈥 he said. 鈥淒uring the pandemic I started going there again like I did when I was very young, to go swim in the morning.鈥
Bryant de Venecia of Honolulu took up standup paddle-boarding when beaches were less crowded.
鈥淗ow I see it is there was some silver lining in this pandemic that over the last few months, locals and especially kanaka were able to reclaim some of the spaces we are not able to occupy or even use because of tourism,鈥 he said, using a word for Native Hawaiians.
But as a communications organizer for a union of hotel workers, de Venecia has 鈥渕essy鈥 feelings: Many members lost paychecks and medical benefits because of a lack of tourists.
Only 300 out of some 9,000 out-of-work members returned to their jobs when Hawaii welcomed back travelers, de Venecia said, making him wonder if tourism will be the lifeblood it once was.
One union member recently went back to work with hesitation. Aina Iglesias, a guest service agent at a Waikiki hotel, said she鈥檚 grateful for an income again.
鈥淏ut it felt really nice for a while to be tourist-free,鈥 she said of the days spent on less-crowded Waikiki beaches with her family.
鈥淲hen tourists are here, it鈥檚 packed, there鈥檚 traffic.鈥
Iglesias said she鈥檚 nervous about staying safe at work, pointing to guests who have ignored health orders.
鈥淭hose who are in quarantine, they go out and they don鈥檛 care,鈥 Iglesias said. 鈥淎nd they get mad at us.鈥
Even with the option to produce a negative test, some travelers choose to quarantine for two weeks, whether at hotels, rentals or at home. Hawaii authorities have arrested some people for violating quarantine.
John Fielding, an Oahu resident of 35 years, said returning tourists will bring normalcy and economic stability. But he wants them to wear masks, keep their distance and follow other health orders.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 time that we start bringing them back,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut they need to be educated. They need to be aware. And they need to have the respect when they come here.鈥
John Alderete, a virologist who lives on Kauai, said it鈥檚 not safe to allow tourists during a pandemic.
鈥淪o it is, in my opinion, a fait accompli that we鈥檙e basically just bringing the virus here and knowingly, willfully doing so,鈥 he said.
A second test after arrival is required for the Big Island, voluntary for Maui and Kauai, and not required for Oahu, the most populated island.
Many attractions popular with tourists are open, including Pearl Harbor and Iolani Palace. But others are closed, including the Polynesian Cultural Center, Hanauma Bay and the Diamond Head State Monument.
For residents along Oahu鈥檚 western Waianae Coast, there鈥檚 less concern about the possibility of visitors making them sick and more of a longstanding feeling that tourists are valued over locals, said state representative Cedric Asuega Gates.
Seeing tourism come back while many schoolchildren are still learning remotely feels like a 鈥渟lap in the face,鈥 Gates said. Jamaica Osorio, assistant professor of Native Hawaiian and indigenous politics at the University of Hawaii, has been vocal about her disdain for tourists.
鈥淲e aren鈥檛 your hosts,鈥 she said in a widely shared tweet on October 15. 鈥淗awaii is still closed. Go home haole,鈥 she wrote, using a Hawaiian word for 鈥渇oreigner.鈥 No one should be vacationing during a pandemic, she said. 鈥淭his is not a time for travel and exploration.鈥
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