The Year Without Tourism: Hawai‘i’s FY2022 Pandemic Budget

Abstract

Hawai'i's economy was devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The effective closure of the tourism industry created an unemployment crisis and led to a dramatic decline in tax revenues. Nevertheless, Hawai'i managed to avoid mass layoffs of public employees and draconian cuts in public services because of federal relief funds. The $15.9 billion budget for FY2022 restored funding to most departments, but the state's dependence on the visitor industry has left it particularly vulnerable to future pandemic travel restrictions.