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The pandemic has slowed Hawaii's economy, which depends on tourism. The island state shut down in March, creating Depression-era levels of unemployment. Now people can once again enter Hawaii freely if they first test negative for COVID-19. Hawaii Public Radio's Ryan Finnerty reports from Honolulu.
RYAN FINNERTY, BYLINE: This is how the halls of Honolulu's airport have sounded for the past seven months.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: All international and continental U.S. travelers are required to stay home or in their hotel room for 14 days after arrival and monitor their health.
FINNERTY: It's been mostly empty. On average, 30,000 people arrived in Hawaii every day during 2019. During the height of the pandemic, it was less than 500. In March, Hawaii Gov. David Ige declared a two-week quarantine for all arriving travelers. That sent a shockwave through the state's $18 billion tourism industry. Unemployment reached almost 24% in April.
CHRISTINA HILFIKER: I'm sort of hanging on by a thread. I'm relying on family and friends.
FINNERTY: Christina Hilfiker is among the 1 in 6 workers still without a job. She lost her restaurant serving job in the tourism-heavy heavy town of Haleiwa in March.
HILFIKER: You know, you can get a lot of miles out of a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter.
FINNERTY: Hilfiker is one of thousands of residents who have experienced lengthy delays in getting jobless benefits. Like many states, Hawaii's unemployment system has been overwhelmed. Local businesses are also struggling. They've endured two lockdowns - one in the spring and a second later this summer, when Hawaii experienced a surge of new infections. Many businesses were being sustained by federal benefits from the CARES Act, which have now run out.
MELISSA BOW: It's just really frustrating not to get the help.
FINNERTY: Melissa Bow runs a gelato shop in Honolulu and says during the second lockdown, many small business owners were at the end of their rope.
BOW: They're just so, so tired, not sleeping at night, zero income for a long time, no help on the horizon. They're thinking about shuttering their business.
FINNERTY: But help may be on the way. The state of Hawaii recently adjusted its travel rules, allowing incoming passengers who test negative for COVID-19 to skip the quarantine. That's a big deal because tourism represents nearly a quarter of Hawaii's economy. Sumner La Croix is an economist with the University of Hawaii.
SUMNER LA CROIX: That's a huge chunk. And if that 23% isn't operating, it will look somewhat like Depression here.
FINNERTY: On the first day of the relaxed travel rules, the number of arriving airline passengers more than tripled compared to recent weeks but was still a fraction of the pre-pandemic level. Major players in Hawaii's visitor industry hope the relaxed quarantine will help relaunch tourism but are preparing for a slow recovery. Hawaiian Airlines recently announced layoffs for 30% of its staff. Senior Vice President Avi Mannis says the relaxed rules will entice some travelers to fly, but they expect many will stay grounded well into 2021.
AVI MANNIS: How quickly we can put people back to work is going to depend on the success of the public health interventions and testing and screening that the state is putting in place.
FINNERTY: The lucrative end-of-year holiday season is normally critical for hotel operators, only half of which have reopened. Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Association President Mufi Hannemann says it's not yet clear if people will be willing to travel.
MUFI HANNEMANN: I think October and how we handle October going to November is going to be critical on what kind of holiday season we're going to have here.
FINNERTY: A winter surge of COVID-19 would be devastating not just for hotels but for the 80,000 Hawaii workers currently out of a job.
For NPR News, I'm Ryan Finnerty in Honolulu.
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