be vacationing alongside or being served by people who lived through the Lahaina tragedy .
“ Please be kind to those who may still be suffering from the effects of the fire ,” she said . “ They may not be at their top emotional place at this time . They don ’ t want to be interviewed about how it is to be living there at the hotel .”
Daines agreed : “ I think it ’ s about getting into the right frame of mind — knowing that you ’ re going to a place where people are still hurting , but they want you there . That ’ s the tricky balance : that the economy needs you . They need visitors ; they need people to shop , to stay in hotels , to eat in the restaurants ,” he said . “ In only a month , businesses were already suffering , so much so that they ’ re laying off people or cutting hours to the point [ that ] they can ’ t function anymore .”
Tapani Vuori , Maui Ocean Center general manager , said coming to Maui and supporting local mom-and-pop operations is a way of honoring the kānaka maoli ( native Hawaiian ) community . “ We need to increase the share of the money staying on Maui so we can have a faster recovery .”
Maui Ocean Center had 1,467 paying guests on the day of the fire , he said , and on one day exactly two weeks later , there were only 106 . So far , he ’ s retained his 130 employees , who he ’ s been sending to volunteer with relief-related NGOs on company time . Some are also working on special projects at the aquarium .
Organizing the Community On the first day of the fire , displaced families started gathering in the Maui Ocean Center parking lot . “ Right away , we removed the paid parking so anybody could park here for however long they wanted ,” Vuori said . “ We worked very closely with those families , trying to provide food and shelter .”
At the end of the second week after the fire , Maui Ocean Center organized a wellness event right there in the parking lot . “ We brought three large event tents , and we put out an open invite to all health practitioners , massage therapists , [ people who provide ] reiki , acupuncture , reflexology — you name it .” They also had certified crisis counselors on hand , all available for free . “ A lot of people were really happy to be able to do that because , spiritually , this has been very challenging for our community ,” he said .
In an attempt to create uniform messaging ,
HAWAIʻI TOURISM AUTHORITY / TOR JOHNSON
Maui Ocean Center called a community meeting that brought together 300 hotel and business owners , state and county personnel and others . The goal was to get everybody on the same page , and it worked .
“ I suggested that the message should be that Maui is open for respectful , compassionate and caring tourism . That we welcome you , although Lahaina is out of bounds ,” he said . “ There ’ s no reason for anyone to go to Lahaina unless you go
there to rescue or do some work that you ’ re authorized to do .”
He proposed in the meeting that the Kā ‘ anapali , Nāpali and Kapalua areas should be open “ because there ’ s a lot of money in that area , and we need to keep it operating and keep all the people on the west side employed , because that will help us recover .”
He also suggested establishing a safe corridor through the Lahaina Bypass road . A dust fence has since been installed along parts
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