Hawaii Tourism Authority’s report for incoming passengers from out of state showed that 13 visitors arrived at Kona Airport on Thursday, April 16 on the single incoming flight. Also on the flight were 27 residents and 1 intended resident.
Mayor Harry Kim has shut down vacation rentals. The HTA now defines visitors, a broad category, which could include not just leisure travelers, but anybody without a Hawaii State Driver’s License or ID, and could include essential healthcare workers, Federal workers, returning college students and sometimes family members who no longer have jobs on the mainland.
Ross Birch, Executive Director of the Hawaii Island Visitor Bureau, says he personally greets each of the four flights now coming into Kona each week from out of state, a Delta flight that lands in Kona on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. On the Thursday flight, 7 of the 13 visitors were incoming healthcare workers staying on the island for more than 90 days. The other 6 are all staying with family or friends for long periods of time. Birch said of the 27 residents, 6 were National Guard members returning home. The one intended resident is a minor staying with family in Na`alehu.
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