The coronavirus pandemic was infinitely foreseeable. In fact, Steven Soderbergh made a movie about it with A-list stars like Matt Damon, Kate Winslet and Bryan Cranston.
Volcanic eruptions, economic recessions and massive climate fueled storms are also a certainty. These things will happen. Period. That makes Hawaii’s dependence on tourism a problem. Every time something bad occurs Hawaii’s tourism economy will be ravaged again. It is completely predictable.
Having an economy based almost solely on tourism is a problem that needs to be solved. Our economic development policy should focus on diversifying our economy, not doubling down on an industry that is vulnerable to world events and natural disasters.
Hawaii has done such a good job positioning itself as a vacation destination that practically no one takes the state seriously as a place to do business. George Clooney says it well in “The Descendants,” which starts with “My friends on the mainland think just because I live in Hawaii, I live in paradise. Like a permanent vacation.”
When I read that the Hawaii County Council was meeting to discuss our economic recovery I was hopeful. I was surprised, however, to read that the key speaker at the meeting would not be an expert in economic development. Instead, it was Ross Birch, an expert in promoting tourism.
Rather than double down on an industry whose disruption has resulted in 37% unemployment, why don’t we focus on recruiting entrepreneurs from abroad, growing our own entrepreneurial ecosystem and supporting both aquaculture and agriculture here on the Island?
With the arrival of Southwest, we are now a direct flight away from both Oakland and San Jose, California. Let’s work to attract technology entrepreneurs and capital from Silicon Valley. Heck, by Silicon Valley standards Hawaii is a bargain. Let’s also invest in our local entrepreneurs by creating accelerators, building spaces to collaborate and providing badly needed seed capital. Finally, let’s make a concerted effort to look at a future beyond tourism, a future with industries as diverse as the people who live here.
Hawaii is a great place to live and work. Let’s make it a destination for businesses, not just tourists.
Joshua Montgomery is a resident of Holualoa.