Most mainland visitors satisfied with trips to Hawaii, study says

Most visitors are aware of Hawaii’s pre-travel testing program, and are mostly satisfied with their recent trips to the islands, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority, but 21% are still having issues with the process.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority commissioned Anthology for the special study, which involved an online survey of U.S. mainland visitors from Dec. 21 to Jan. 4. All surveyed visited Hawaii in December.

HTA said nearly every visitor who took the survey was aware of the state’s pre-travel testing protocols — which require a negative result from an approved COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours prior to departure to Hawaii — to bypass the state’s mandatory, 10-day quarantine. Fewer than 1% were unaware of these protocols.

Of the approximately 500 travelers surveyed, 79% said the pre-travel testing went smoothly, while 21% experienced issues.

Among those who had issues with the testing process, nearly half, or 46%, said they felt the 72-hour window for testing was unreasonable, 37% encountered difficulty finding a trusted testing partner and 15% said their test results did not arrive in time.

More visitors from the U.S. East market than the U.S. West market experienced issues with testing. The latter had more challenges getting test results in time.

Finding trusted testing partners was also more of an issue for less affluent visitors.

A couple from Michigan recently shared in an Island Voices column that their recent trip to Hawaii was ruined when their test provider – which was accepted in October — was not accepted as a trusted testing partner in January. The couple booked a flight home instead of remaining in quarantine, then flew to Florida.

The couple said travelers should be informed of rejected test results before getting on the plane, and not after their arrival.

Other findings:

>> Nearly all travelers surveyed were aware prior to arriving in the islands of the local government mandates in place to prevent the spread of the virus and limited availability or capacity of visitor amenities. A whopping 99% were aware of local government mandates such as the wearing of masks. Another 96% were aware of closures and restrictions for restaurants, bars, and some visitor attractions.

>> A majority of visitors, or 94%, said that their trip met or exceeded their expectations — of that number, 52% said it met expectations and 42% said it exceeded expectations. HTA noted that younger visitors under age 35 were more likely to feel their trip exceeded their expectations. There was a higher satisfaction level among first-time visitors.

>> More than a third, or 39%, said their trip would have been better if more businesses, attractions and beaches were open. Another 27% said COVID mandates and rules were confusing. Another 5% said the trip would have been better if it were not for unfriendly local residents.

>> About 20% of those surveyed said Hawaii’s relatively low COVID-19 infection rate was very important to choosing the state as a place to visit, while 24% said it was one of several reasons, and 36% said it had no bearing.

>> Roughly 1 in 4 visitors surveyed, or 24%, said they were unlikely to get the COVID-19 vaccine if it meant they could visit Hawaii again without COVID-19 pre-testing. The remaining 76% said they intended to get vaccinated.

>> Of those surveyed, 20% said they would return when the pandemic is over and most COVID restrictions or mandates removed. Another 18% said they would visit again after completing the vaccination process.

Hawaii’s Safe Travels program, which began in mid-October, allows most passengers arriving from out-of-state and traveling inter-county to bypass the mandatory quarantine with a valid, negative COVID-19 Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAAT) result from a state-approved trusted testing partner.

In mid-December, the mandatory quarantine period of 14 days was reduced to 10 days in accordance with federal guidelines.

The test must be taken no earlier than 72 hours from the final leg of departure, and the negative result must be received prior to departure to Hawaii.