Travel
Can I Travel to Maui? What Officials and Locals Say About Tourism After Fire
Feelings are mixed, but since four out of five dollars in the regional economy stem from visitor spending, the government is not closing off the island.
Reservations for the Polynesian-themed dining room of Mama’s Fish House on Maui’s north shore typically book out a year in advance. But the family-run, 42-table restaurant has been quietly empty following the recent fires that ravaged other parts of the island.
The lull has allowed the kitchen to provide nearly a thousand meals a day to first responders and displaced residents. However, its 250 employees, not to mention the local farms and fisherman the restaurant sources from, worry about their future, which clings to tourism.