tourism

The visitor industry is Maui County’s leading economic sector, with visitor-related activities affecting almost every aspect of life on all three of the county’s islands. The Hawaii Tourism Authority markets Maui, Molokai, and Lanai to appeal to a wide range of both domestic and foreign tourists. Since both the COVID pandemic and the 2023 wildfire disaster, there has been a concerted effort to highlight more community-minded visitor activities, such as volunteering with conservation organizations and shopping at small local businesses.

Despite its continued and broad economic impact, the visitor industry is not Maui County’s fastest growing or most resilient sector with respect to employment. When comparing July 2024 job counts to July 2023 (pre-wildfire), the most visitor-dependent industries in Maui County – food service and drinking places, retail trade, accommodation, transportation, and arts, entertainment, and recreation – lost a combined 4,600 jobs due to the sharp decline in visitors after the 2023 wildfires.