Red-hot economic gift a godsend while it lasts
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| Lava from Kilauea volcano crossed the nearly covered Chain of Craters Road at sunrise Monday as it flowed toward the sea.
Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser |
By Hugh Clark
Advertiser Big Island Bureau
HILO, Hawai'i — The Big Island is gaining in just about every way from the Kilauea eruption.
More than 10 acres have been added to the coastline since lava burst through the surface and began spilling into the ocean downslope of the Pu'u 'O'o vent in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park in July.
Meanwhile, hotels, shops and other Hilo businesses that cater to visitors are regaining ground lost after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
News media near and far have been carrying reports of the spectacular lava flow, drawing tourists like moths to a flame. The volcano has averaged 2,500 visitors a day in the past month, park officials said.
National Park Service
"The Mainland press is our best friend now," said Jason O'Brien of Safari Helicopters.
Viewers have flocked to the Big Island to see glowing lava flows like this one, near Chain of Craters Road.
The company's seven to eight tour flights were sold out yesterday, O'Brien said. The flight-seeing company charges $140 to $170 per passenger for volcano tours on a helicopter that carries six passengers plus a pilot.
Business has been so good at Hawai'i Naniloa Hotel in Hilo that General Manager Leilani Andrade called back most of the employees laid off last fall, and is hiring new cleaners.
The landmark Hilo Hotel is pushing full occupancy on weekends with interisland lava-watchers. "We don't blame 9/11 on anything anymore," Andrade said.
Christine Reed, co-owner of the Petroglyph Press, said sales at the Kamehameha Avenue store in downtown Hilo had exceeded all expectations for August, topping pre-Sept. 11 figures.
At Hirano's, an 85-year-old general store in Glenwood, between Hilo and Volcano, business is exceptionally good "when it's happening," said Gus Estrada, adding that weather and the volcano's daily activity play key roles in visitor traffic.
But the Big Island's fortune is subject to the whims of humans and nature, and there are signs it is waning.
Lava is no longer flowing into the ocean and is less accessible than before, said park spokeswoman Mardie Lane. Instead of 15 minutes, visitors must hike 45 minutes to see surface flows.
And fewer families are arriving as kids return to school, she said.
On a peak day, park officials counted 4,200 visitors. On Monday, there were 1,700.
