West Maui sees return of major events that aim to give region economic boost

LAHAINA (HawaiiNewsNow) – Officials are hoping for an economic boost for the Valley Isle with two upcoming events expected to bring a much needed cash infusion to west Maui.
It’s been three years since the Maui Invitational College Basketball Tournament was held at the Lahaina Civic Center.
Thousands of visitors are expected for its start on Monday along with a THREE-day festival already underway touting local businesses.
Dozens of vendors set up shop at the Royal Lahaina Resort and Bungalows, just a six-minute drive from where the tournament will be held.
The effort is being spearheaded by the Council For Native Hawaiian Advancement and Hawaii Tourism Authority with a hope to maximize the potential economic boost from the tournament.
The island’s tourism economy is still struggling more than a year after the fires.
State data shows that in the first two weeks of November, the number of domestic travelers to Maui is up 16% compared to the same time a year ago.
But that’s still down about 7% compared to 2019, before the pandemic.
“It’s not back to normal. As much as we would like that to be the case, it’s actually been very hard to recover and it still will be,” said Naomi Cooper with the Maui Hotel and Lodging Association.
Cooper says West Maui hotels are still seeing the biggest slumps but with the Maui Invitational returning to Lahaina, there’s hope it will help end the year strong.
The tournament is expected to bring in over 6,000 visitors with an economic impact of $24 million.
“Hopefully it says that Maui as a whole is open and Lahaina is healing and welcomes back the world to come celebrate with it,” said Cooper.
The Maui Invitational will go until Wednesday at the Lahaina Civic Center, with the Lahaina Festival ending on Tuesday.
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