Originally Posted by
rune87
The messaging on visiting Maui has gotten so messed up, that its ultimately going to cause this suffering to spread to more folks via unemployment and depression. And like it has been the entire time growing up, the population that is anti-tourism has the loudest voice and story at the moment. You really only survive in the islands in one of two industries....tourism or working for the Gov't. It's unfortunately a necessary evil and fact of life that it is the economic engine. There are no other industries anymore. Be smart...stay away from the west side, but spend the money on the eastside, and have just a little more Aloha in how you spend and tip while there.
I generally agree with everything here but I'd (slightly) disagree that it's "gotten so messed up." With the exception of an understandable knee-jerk reaction from the governor telling tourists to stay away from Maui entirely, the message has been pretty clear that the island aside from west Maui is open for business. Yes, there will always be the anti-tourist folks using things like this to ride the wave and help their ultimate agenda but every reliable/reasonable source from about 48 hours post-fire onward has said the same thing: Be respectful but keep coming.