For Hawaii, ‘Meetings and Events Help with the Healing’

Friday, October 20, 2023

Members of the Hawaiian delegation dealt with the same question over and over at Imex America: How can we help?

With tourism-dependent Maui coping with the fallout from the devastating fires in August, the event professionals at Imex knew better than most the economic impact of the disaster and wanted to assist in the recovery.

John G. Reyes, senior vice president and chief MCI sales officer for the Hawai’i Visitors and Convention Bureau, said he and his colleagues were touched by the concern, and told those they talked to that “meetings and events help with the healing.”

“Nobody wants to be first,” Reyes said, adding that travelers are welcome but they need to be sensitive to the close-knit people of Maui, many of whom suffered in the August wildfires that left nearly 100 dead and devastated parts of the island.

The travel industry has started to come back in a phased reopening that began early this month following safety assessments of the infrastructure and environment in affected areas. West Maui reopened on Oct. 8, with additional resort areas expected to come back online over the next several weeks 

Reyes encouraged event planners to work with his group because it has the latest information on the types of accommodations and amenities that are available on Maui, which has been losing $13 million a day in tourism revenue.

“We’re the destination experts,” he said, adding that his organization can provide the latest on the reopening efforts at no cost to meeting and event planners. Reyes was also quick to mention that it’s business as usual for the rest of the state.

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