People wondering where to eat, go shopping or take care of errands on Kauaʻi after Hurricane Lowell can turn to two different websites to find out.
A tourism industry nonprofit launched a new site, openkauai.org, with information on the status of hundreds of Kaua’i businesses. It says what’s open, partially open and closed. Some listings indicate when a closed business was expected to resume operations.
Kamika Smith, the general manager of Smith’s Kauai, which offers river boat cruises and luau in Wailua, came up with the idea during an online meeting.
Business operators in attendance were posting in the chat whether they were open, or dates they planned to reopen.
“There was so much information coming through that it was difficult to keep track of it,” Smith said in an email.
Leigh Hachen has updated her existing site about farmers markets, food trucks and local etiquette -- cocowire.com -- to include details about what’s open after the storm. She’s been calling businesses and visiting them firsthand to check their status. Her data indicates that 70% of Kauai’s eateries are open.
Smith is also president of the Activities and Attractions Association of Hawaii. He asked Toni Marie Davis, the nonprofit’s executive director and who also happens to be a software developer, if she could build what became openkauai.org.
They wanted a place where residents could find businesses to help them recover from the storm and where visitors could find out how to support their favorite restaurants and activities.
“We are letting guests know that much of Kaua‘i is steadily returning to normal while some areas continue to need time for cleanup and recovery, including communities beyond Hanalei town and the road leading up to Waimea Canyon,” Smith said in an email.
They’re asking visitors who come to Kauaʻi to bring “aloha, patience and respect,” Smith said.
Tourism after disasters
Whether travelers should visit Hawaiʻi communities struck by disaster has been a major issue as climate change-fueled disasters have multiplied in recent years.
Gov. Josh Green and other leaders initially asked tourists to avoid Maui after the 2023 Maui wildfires, then encouraged them to return after some time had passed. The mixed messaging contributed to a drop in tourism.
Davis, who lives on Maui, remembered this as she thought about Kauaʻi after Lowell.
“I couldn't help but have a little déjà vu with the situation that we had here on Maui when the fires happened,” Davis said. She didn’t want Kauai to go through the same thing.
“We still on Maui haven't completely come back from that economic impact. So I just wanted to do my best to soften that,” Davis said.
Artificial intelligence allowed Davis to build openkauai.org in just three days. She estimates it would have taken her a month to write the code herself. She used Google Sites, which allows nonprofits to host websites for free. She spent just $8.50 - what it cost her to obtain the domain name.
“ I hope it becomes obsolete because Kauaʻi gets back on its feet quick,” Davis said.
But it will also be available if Tropical Storm Nolo, which was developing south of Hawaiʻi Island on Wednesday, becomes an issue, Davis said.
