HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii tourism industry officials are having a mixed reaction to Gov. David Ige’s plea that people not travel to the islands because of a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The governor made the comments Monday as hospitals across the state fill up with a record number of coronavirus patients.
“It is a risky time to be traveling right now,” Ige said. “We do know that it is not a good time to travel to the islands.”
Officials from the Hawaii Tourism Authority plan to discourage travel, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Tuesday.
“Our community, residents and the visitor industry are responsible for working together to address this crisis,” said John De Fries, the organization’s president and CEO. “As such, we are strongly advising visitors that now is not the right time to travel, and they should postpone their trips through the end of October.”
But others in the industry are reluctant to hit the brakes after the economy rebounded with eased restrictions…