Future of Pahoa

[Todd H]

There's certainly no harm in stoking the fires of unbridled optimism, sprinkled with a bit of wishful thinking. Lest anyone think I'm being critical, I'm one who does those very things.[]

Here's my take:

Based on some of the reports I've read, tourism to Hawaii is down. It's unlikely that this oozing, stinky lava flow is going to cause a noticeable bump in bookings and tourist revenue. It just doesn't possess any of the "wow" factor that a flaming fountain would create. If anything, it would cause tourists leery of uncertainty to visit the Kona side (or another island, entirely).

Even if it were played up to the hilt, there has to be an infrastructure to support bringing hordes of tourists to Lower Puna. In addition to adequate public roads without restricted access, there will need to be places for these folks to eat and sleep. Never mind that building an airport to support (and sustain) scheduled airline service would be a tough sell all around. Sure, you'll be able to attract a niche group of travelers who prefer to rough it, but (no offense), these same people aren't apt to splurge on food and lodging.

Overall, the hassle factor alone will make Lower Puna a destination for the truly determined. While there are things like zip-line and kayak tours that pique the interest of the adventuresome, I would bet that most tourists to Hawaii are seeking down-time, good food, decent accommodations, and predictability that is in-line with their conceptions (or misconceptions) of what Hawaii means to them. Aloha.

Todd

[lavarat]

Lava isn't for everybody, but there were a lot of people coming to see the flows on the park side and on the Kalapana side. A lot of tourists would drive from Kona and there were shuttle buses from Hilo that picked up the tourists from the cruise lines and took them back during the few hours that the ship was docked there. Small groups of tourists would even go in taxis. Sometimes the line of cars parked on the shoulder was more than a mile long. The stream of tour choppers and small planes was endless during the day. On the park side, many licensed tour outfits would guide tourists to the flows. On the Kalapana side, hundreds of tourists per day were willing to pay upwards of $100 to be guided to the flows after the security personnel left the area or from locations which were out of view. Some residents of Kalapana Gardens were at first opposed to people invading their subdivision, but pretty soon they were cashing in on the excursions. There were a lot of vendors selling their photos and other stuff at the viewing area.

[PaulW]

The way the lava is flowing now, it will be heading to somewhere between Malama and the Post Office. If so, it can't flow uphill frm there to Luquins. That's why I say "cut in two".

The past few years it has been difficult to get to see the flowing lava, now it could be just a case of driving not too far from Hilo airport, that's why I think the tourists will flock.

[missydog1]

The demand to see lava of any kind is huge. My years spent talking with potential visitors on Tripadvisor has taught me that.

Many visitors want to add on a short Big Island segment to trips to other islands, for the sole purpose of striking "see lava" off their bucket list. There are also day trippers from Maui and Oahu. There's a whole market of Aussie visitors who prefer Oahu because they don't need to drive, who want to come over and see lava. Honeymooners going to Maui who want to jaunt over and take a look.

All this in addition to the regular Big Island visitor.
It's not speculation to say the market is there. As for where to stay, people are willing to drive from anywhere from Hakalau to Punalu'u.

The smaller niche of visitors are the ones who want to stay in an isolated area. Most first timers want to find one or two bases from which they can make day trips. An east side base with a weird traffic and road scenario won't appeal to those. You need to find the niche for "retreat" type travelers. It exists, for sure, but would need somewhat different marketing strategy.

Kathy

[LavaOcean]

For those who don't think lava flows up hill realize that the flow front is only that there will be breakouts along the tube especially in flat areas and those could lead to the devastation of Pahoa. Leading edge for flow may be small the swath from breakouts can be substantial. The whole tourism thing will be a mess unless county sets clear intentions and permitting regulations as well as safe viewing sites

[bluesboy]

could be the setting for an all time rager at the akebono.

[missydog1]

quote:

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Originally posted by LavaOcean

The whole tourism thing will be a mess unless county sets clear intentions and permitting regulations as well as safe viewing sites

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Hear hear.
People will get hurt or worse if they don't manage it.

Kathy

[TomK]

Terracore:

"How are all the tour buses supposed to get there? 130 was backed up past the credit union from 3:00pm until almost 7."

Good point and I don't understand PaulW's point that "Not much traffic on a dead end street.". Currently, 130 is a massive traffic jam. Things might get better once the resurfacing is done at the end of next week, but until the shoulder lane is open sometime next year no one is going anywhere very quickly when heading into Puna.

And remember, there have been enormous backups even before the current resurfacing work.

[PaulW]

I meant that if the flow cut Pahoa main street then the only traffic going down there would be to see the flow.
Through traffic to Puna would be going elsewhere. This could still mean a traffic jam on H130, though maybe not if a lot of people move North to avoid having to commute over Railroad and/or Beach every day.

[punafish]

Most folks would still be using H130 up to Paradise/Maku'u, correct? (Depending of course on where the lava ends up flowing). Only after that point would highway traffic be reduced to lava viewers. The bottleneck at Keaau would still be a bottleneck, probably worse because of the extra vehicles on the road going to view the lava.