HONOLULU, HI (KHNL) There’s no shortage of visitors on the streets of Waikiki.
In January, tourism-related spending gave the state’s economy a $1.6 billion dollar boost, up more than 10 percent from last year.
Could a call to boycott Hawaii trending on social media put Hawaii’s tourism growth in jeopardy? Officials say it’s too soon to tell.
On Wednesday, a Hawaii judge blocked President Trump’s revised travel ban from taking effect, making the islands a target of a social media firestorm.
Just hours after the ruling, Trump supporters took to Twitter, calling for users on the social media network to #BoycottHawaii.
Some even questioned what Hawaii would know about being attacked, appearing to forget that the bombing of Pearl Harbor was, until the World Trade Center was brought down, the deadliest foreign attack on American soil in U.S. history.
George Szigeti, chief executive of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, said he stands by the state attorney general’s decision to challenge the president’s revised travel ban.
“We stand by him shoulder to shoulder,” he said. “It’s the right thing to do for Hawaii.”
