“I think once the mask mandate is lifted people may be more inclined to take tours, too,” Akau said. With the end of Safe Travels and masking mandates, Akau expects interest to rise. Wasabi Tours hosts about five tours from Tuesday to Saturday and has been fully booked most weeks. “I think that would cause an increase in van and bus tours, because people coming here for the first time want to see as much of the island as they can.” When travel reopened the first time, we had a shortage of rental cars that really impacted tourism,” Akau said. “I think we’ll see an increase in rental car prices as well. People can get off the plane and not worry,” Akau said.Īkau thinks that an influx in tourism could cause a shortage of rental cars, which could increase interest in van or bus tours.

“I think we’ll see more people taking tours, because there will be no requirements to go through in order to get here.

Robin Akau, operations manager for Wasabi Tours, expects more interest in bus tours across the island after the removal of Safe Travels. “Everything we do gives back to the community at the same time.” “It feels good to see more tours coming back around, because it puts money into our business and the local economy, too,” Kreusling said. Kreusling is excited to see more visitors taking tours, not just for KapohoKine, but also for local businesses the tour groups frequent. “Many other visitors feel they can breathe and enjoy their vacations by doing tours again, so we’ve been able to max out our vans.” “We have been slammed with cruises, but many of our patrons are not just from the cruise ships,” Kreusling said. KapohoKine was inundated with more business when cruise ships returned to the Port of Hilo earlier this year. “It takes a specific person to be able to guide, and we’re happy to have a few more people out.” “Hiring five people is huge for us, because we have zero revenue unless we have guides on the street,” Kreusling said. We’ve been interviewing daily and hiring more guides to be able to support us when we completely open back up.”Īfter interviewing about 100 people, KapohoKine hired five new guides and will be increasing the amount of vans on the road from about 10 to 15. “Our biggest struggle has been finding people that want to work. “Every day has been absolutely crazy, and it’s definitely going to be busier,” said Marketing Director Coco Kreusling. KapohoKine Adventures is gearing up for a busy season by hiring more people after losing nearly 90% of its staff due to the pandemic.

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