Christine Hitt, reporting for SFGate:
“There’s still been growth in visitor numbers but the per person in real inflation-adjusted terms, spending was at its highest actually in 1988, so it means tourists now are spending less than they did individually in 1988,” Steven Bond-Smith, an economist at the Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawaii, told SFGATE by phone.
Bond-Smith said a healthy economy in the US averages about 2% growth over long periods of time, but Hawaii is averaging much lower, at around 0.6%. Because the state hasn’t kept pace with the continent, residents are driven to leave.
“You need higher- and higher-value jobs and activities being done here,” Bond-Smith said. The jobs that tend to offer higher wages are in very large US cities and they’re particularly in tech or biotech, he explained. “The main activity here is obviously tourism, and it hasn’t had that kind of income growth that other places have had.”
Simple Flying, reporting on Alaska’s hub strategy after acquiring Hawaiian:
Following the airlines’ merger, more than 20% more seats are now on offer between Seattle and Honolulu, with three of the six daily flights operated by widebody aircraft. Further down the coast, Portland now sees three daily nonstop flights to Hawaii, representing an increase of 25% more seats.
Two daily flights now take off between San Diego and Maui, with new routes from San Francisco to Kona and Lihue. This will see the group now offer four daily nonstop flights from San Francisco to the main airports in the state. The Hawaiian A330 will also add a once-daily service between Honolulu and Sacramento.
So, one upshot of Alaska’s purchase – so far – has been more seats between Hawaii and both Seattle and San Francisco, two cities with thriving tech sectors. Approving that acquisition was a no-brainer.