Hawaii has suffered one of the worst winters for tourism in recent years and has appealed to the state’s most famous native son — President Obama — to help turn its fortunes around.
Hotel occupancy rates in the winter were the lowest in at least five years, and in February — traditionally the state’s busiest month — the rate dropped to 75%. That was the lowest level since 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, when it fell to 69.7%, according to Smith Travel Research.
“Appeals to Obama???” Isn’t it Obama, his administration and the NGO shock troops of ACORN, MoveOn, etc. that are mau-mauing companies and organizations into cutting travel?
So will Obama force us to travel to Hawaii, or will he just send our dollars there without us getting the nice tan and luau?
I took two flights into Hawai’i last month and both were full to capacity. I thought I was booking at off-peak times. Same with the flights out. And the hotels didn’t seem to be suffering. Perhaps because I was in O’ahu.
I also visited Hawai’i during 1991 during the Gulf War – there the absence of tourists was very noticeable – we had the fabled Lumahai beach to ourselves.
Build a bridge from San Francisco to Honolulu.
Funny how populism cuts. AIG has a corporate retreat. Response? Populist outrage! The President calls on companies to stop the waste. Companies stop business travel. The tourism industry suffers, people lose their jobs. Response? Populist outrage!
A Republican governor asks the Democratic President to be kinder to the tourism industry. Response? Jeffersonian sour grapes (ah yes, ACORN and MoveOn, you forgot George Soros, the MSM, the Pentaverite, the Priory of Sion and the bogeyman).
It’s not sour grapes, AC, to point highlight exactly what the article called out, namely Obama’s vilification of business and business travel to destinations he disapproves of by certain people. Given the rhetoric coming out of DC lately, no one knows who is a Disfavored Person or what might be a Forbidden Destination and whether going to one might find ACORN brownshirts picketing your home. So businesses, wisely, play it safe and cancel the Hawaii trip in favor of, say, Akron (or not at all).
Ultimately, this all boils down to an epistemological problem, the downfall of all totalitarian societies. We will not escape these consequences. It’s not that the planner is a Republican or Democrat, AC, it’s that the Republicans and Democrats are planners.
Nah, maybe we can just throw some more money down the bailout rat hole. Speaking of which, I filed my taxes today. Maybe I can get a bailout.
Is every business standing in line for that US handout??