Last Updated on 08/15/2023 by てんしょく飯
After the U.S. island of Maui, Hawaii, was hit by a massive wildfire, Jason Momoa, 44, a popular actor from the state, appealed on Instagram that Maui is “not the place to go on vacation” now. Local residents, on the other hand, have criticized the fact that several tourists are playing as if nothing happened in the midst of the tragedy.
Mahalo (thank you) to everyone who donated and showed aloha (love and compassion) to the community during this difficult time.
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Jason Momoa, popular for his roles in movies such as “Aquaman,” took to Instagram on August 12 with a video titled “Don’t travel to Maui,” saying, “Maui is not the place to go for tourism now. Don’t travel to Maui. Don’t assume that your presence is needed on an island that is suffering so deeply right now.
Momoa continued, “Mahalo to everyone who has donated and shown aloha (love and compassion) to the community during this difficult time.
Momoa also wrote that the Hawaii community “needs time to heal, grieve, and recover from its wounds,” noting that “the fewer tourists who consume the necessities of life that have become so scarce, the better.”
According to the state of Hawaii, the death toll confirmed by the 13th has risen to 93. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said on April 12 that the death toll could rise “significantly.
In the midst of this situation, residents of Maui have been horrified by the sight of tourists enjoying swimming on the island’s beaches. A Maui resident told the BBC, “Our people just died three days ago in the same ocean, and the next day, tourists, tourists were swimming. I think that says a lot about how those people’s minds and feelings are now, and how our minds and feelings are now”.
The woman emphasized that no one in Hawaii would “swim, bare dive, or surf” in such a tragic situation as the present. She said, “There is no one [among the residents] who is having fun in the midst of this tragedy and continuing with their normal lives as if nothing happened.”
There are two Hawaii’s now. There are two Hawaii’s now: the one we live in and the one that these people are in and the one they are visiting.”
Local officials have asked tourists visiting Maui on non-essential trips to leave the island, and have asked those planning to visit Maui to cancel their trips.
However, the decrease in tourism revenues will be a major blow to Hawaii’s economy. According to 2019 statistics from the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), tourism was the largest source of revenue for private capital. The 10.4 million visitors to Hawaii that year spent $18 billion in the state, 30% of which was spent on Maui.
The Maui Economic Development Commission has calculated an even larger economic impact of tourism, stating that approximately 80% of the revenue generated on Maui comes from tourism, both directly and indirectly.
The forest fires, which began on August 8, were fanned by dry air and the strong winds of a hurricane passing nearby, and spread. Although most of the fires are now under control, firefighting efforts to completely extinguish them in various parts of Maui are continuing.
The Camp Fire fire, which killed at least 85 people in California in 2018, has been considered the worst wildfire ever recorded in the U.S., but the death toll from this fire has surpassed that.
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