While tourism has fully opened for the most part, COVID19 is still having an effect on travel not just in Hawaii, but in the entire United States. As the graph shows there has been a significant increase in cases in the last month. The graph is a bit deceiving as compared to the winter because while it appears to be worse than the winter, the data was only reported every other day so each bar represents 2-3 days worth of cases while in the winter each bar represented that day. Another factor that the graph does not show is the increase in self testing over time. Many of those cases are not noted on this graph. They would only be noted if that person had to go to the doctor or emergency room and needed to be retested.
The graph for the state of Hawaii is very similar in trend to that of the United States. Why what is happening in Hawaii is just as important, if not more important, than what is happening from the destinations people are traveling from is because in the event cases drastically increase in Hawaii it is likely that the state will impose more restrictions on travel to Hawaii.
On the practical level, with testing becoming easier and more common cases are increasing. With the increase of cases many travelers are still testing prior to travel if they do not feel well and if they test positive, they are cancelling their vacation. In the month of May, many companies saw their number of cancellations double as opposed to the month prior.
Unfortunately, this seems to be a common trend moving forward. While many people are eager to travel if they are sick they are likely to cancel. Prior to 2020 it was very uncommon for people to cancel. Many people would travel with the flu. Now if people have a cold, they are debating traveling.
