HAWAII TRAVEL PARADISE IS DESERTED, WITH RECOVERY FURTHER OFF:

Tourism makes up one-fifth of Hawaii’s gross domestic product, with more than 10 million visitors last year — more than six times the size of the local population. That’s all but vanished now. In the week ended April 25, spending by visitors dropped 96% compared with the same period last year, according to the U.S. Travel Association.

“Hawaii is so tourism-dependent that it stands to reason it will be disproportionately affected by a recession that dampens consumer spending on vacations and public health concerns about travel,” said Joseph Parilla, a fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program.

Hawaii’s distant location may help, to an extent, shield it from the pandemic that’s ravaging some parts of the mainland. In Hawaii, the number of new cases has dwindled to five on April 30, compared with a peak of 31 on March 17, according to the state’s Department of Health. The state had 618 cases in total, and 16 deaths.

Even as Hawaii’s cases fall, Governor David Ige extended the state-at-home order through the end of May and said visitors need to quarantine for 14 days.

As America’s Newspaper of Record reported: Governor Unveils Innovative 37-Step Plan To Reopen State Over The Next 10 Years.