Town of Volcano enjoys flow of tourists

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Staff Writer

VOLCANO, Hawai'i — While the Big Island has been oozing with visitors since Kilauea began its accessible lava show this summer, no place has experienced the red-hot flow of tourist dollars more than Volcano, the quaint town nestled at the 3,700-foot elevation near the entrance to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park.

Adele Tripp, left, and Carol Giamario have been busy serving visitors this summer who have flocked to see Kilauea's flow. Timothy Hurley • The Honolulu Advertiser

"It's been crazy all summer, and it's still booming," said Adele Tripp of Kilauea Store, where business is up at least 30 percent.

Sales at Kilauea Store are on a pace that hasn't been approached since the total eclipse of the sun during the summer of 1991, said manager Carol Giamario.

Many of Volcano's bed-and-breakfast inns report being booked solid, and the restaurants are packed.

At Volcano's Lava Rock Cafe, nocturnal volcano viewers have been keeping the restaurant staff at work well past the 9 p.m. closing time.

"The lines have been out the door," said Tripp, whose husband, Rupert Tripp, entertains there.

JP's Volcano Cafe has been swamped on more than a few occasions, said cashier/server Napua Naha, daughter of owner Charlie Muragin.

Down the street, at Volcano True Value Hardware, the hottest items are water and flashlights — essentials for nightly hiking to the lava flow.

Owner Maurice Thomas said national publicity created a buzz as spectacular as the molten lava flowing to the sea.

"When it first started, there was a line at the end of the day just to buy flashlights. Now we keep cases of them."

The store has sold thousands of flashlights. "At the end of the day, it was like, 'Get the door shut,'" he said.

Among the throngs have been a sizable contingent of local folks, the merchants report.

"We've been open for seven years," Rodrigues said, "and we've gotten people from Hilo who've never been in here until the volcano started."

Rodrigues said she hopes the volcano remains as perky for years to come, but she conceded that not everyone in the town of 2,200 residents appreciates the traffic.

"There's a certain group here who likes to get away from the crowds, who likes to pull up into the post office and get the parking space up front," she said. But lately, those parking spaces have been filled with rental cars.

There is hope for those folks. The arrival of September marks the end of the summer travel season, and the hike to the flows has become increasingly longer and may be discouraging some visitors.