I’m paid to have a way with words. But as the anniversary of a truly terrible day edges closer and closer, syllables and vowels and nouns and verbs aren’t coming easily. It’s a lovely, sunny day in Toronto. I am surrounded by my little green garden, which is spiked with deep pink impatiens, hanging ivy and colourful coleus. I should be sitting in my big, blue, wooden chair with my feet up after finishing a couple of travel writing assignments. But I keep thinking about Hawaii. About Maui. About Lahaina. It was a year ago tomorrow that the world came Read more
Lahaina fire
A new look at the world’s safest and most riskiest cities for tourists puts Toronto in the top three. Forbes Advisor looked at a variety of criteria, including U.S. State Department advisories, crime rates, and health infrastructure. Cities were given numerical ratings from zero (most safe) to 100 (least safe) Singapore came out on top with a zero rating, which is pretty remarkable. Forbes said the island state has the lowest natural disaster rating and the second lowest health security risk, reflecting the level and quality of healthcare services and infrastructure. Air Canada recently began direct flights between Vancouver and Read more
Somehow I missed it, but I now see that the Hawaii Tourism Authority has launched a campaign to boost Maui tourism. Called Mākaukau Maui, which means “Maui is Read,” the campaign seeks to let would-be visitors know that it’s a good time to visit. “We wanted to offer a platform and a voice for them to make that invitation to folks,” T. Ilihia Gionson, the Hawai’i Tourism Authority’s public affairs officer, said in a story in Skift magazine. “We’re almost nine months since the fire, and we continue to hear ‘We’re not sure if Maui is open,’ or ‘We’re not Read more
Parts of West Maui officially opened for business today. But it’s unclear if that will remain the case. Maui’s County Council unanimously passed a resolution on Friday (Oct. 6) asking Governor Josh Green to delay the opening because area residents are still traumatized by the August 8 fires that killed nearly 100 people and destroyed almost all of the town of Lahaina. “I hope that it sends a loud message,” Maui County Councilmember Tamara Paltin said in a story posted at Hawaii News Now. “We need certain things to be able to open to to tourism. We need stability of Read more
I wrote a story last week that quoted Hawaii tourism officials as saying it’s a good time to visit Maui. The gist of the article was that many areas of Maui are open to visitors (west Maui won’t open until October 15), and that local workers need tourism to return so they can keep their jobs. Many readers agree, but some still don’t like the idea of visitors so soon after the August 8 fire that killed at least 115 people and destroyed almost all of the beautiful town of Lahaina. Here are some sample comments: “We will leave Maui Read more
