Survey: 8 in 10 residents say they aren’t ready to welcome tourists back

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - The state’s lockdown this spring aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus brought the economy to a grinding halt and resulted in tens of thousands of layoffs.

But despite the economic pain, most Hawaii residents support the government’s swift action, according to a new survey. And the majority would be OK with restrictions being re-instituted if the virus spikes again.

The poll from the University of Hawaii Public Policy Center asked 600 residents for their thoughts on the state’s response to coronavirus.

The vast majority ― some 88% ― thought various public health restrictions were “mostly reasonable” and more than half said they still felt a little to very unsafe going to places with many other people.

The poll also underscored the scale of the economic devastation that the pandemic has caused.

About 7% said someone in their household had permanently lost a job ― while more than 1 in 3 said a household member had temporarily been laid off.

Much of the kamaaina economy has reopened, but the tourism industry remains shuttered and the governor on Monday announced that a plan to welcome visitors back has been pushed to Sept. 1.

Some 81% of residents agreed they don’t want “tourists come to visit my community right now.”