The wildfires that broke out on Maui, Hawaii on Tuesday are now largely under control, but efforts to fully extinguish them are still ongoing in some parts of the island.
Actor Jason Momoa has warned tourists not to travel to the wildfire-hit island of Maui in Hawaii, says BBC News. The actor emphasizes that the presence of vacationers is not needed there now.
– Maui is not the right place for your vacation right now. Don’t travel, Momoa writes on Instagram.
– Don’t convince yourself that your presence is needed on an island that suffers so deeply, he continues.
At least 93 people have already been confirmed dead in the Maui wildfires, which destroyed several towns on the island, including the historically significant Lahaina.
Jason Momoa, known for the films Aquaman and Fast & Furious X and the TV series Game of Thrones, is a native Hawaiian. He has also shared a video on Instagram in which he says that the Hawaiian community now needs time to heal, grieve and recover.
– It means that the fewer guests there are now on the island taking vital, extremely limited resources, the better.
The 44-year-old actor commented on the situation on Maui after the island’s residents said they were shocked by the vacation of tourists lounging on the beach while locals searched the ruins for dead victims.
– The waters in which people died three days ago are the same waters in which these visitors, tourists, swam the very next day, a local told the BBC.
– No Hawaiian would swim, snorkel or surf in such tragic conditions. “No one has fun in the midst of a tragedy and goes on with their lives as if nothing happened,” he continued.
Local authorities have also asked non-essential travelers on the island of Maui to leave and urged people to cancel their planned trips there.
Tourists are asked to stay away even though the decline of tourism would mean quite a collapse for Hawaii’s economy. Tourism was the single largest source of private capital in 2019, according to Hawaii tourism officials. 10.4 million visitors spent a total of 18 billion dollars on the islands at that time. Mauille ended up with about a third of the money.
According to the Maui Business Board, tourism is even more important to the island. It estimates that around 80 percent of all income generated on the island comes directly or indirectly from tourism.
Source: BBC News