HONOLULU (KHON2) — Amid President Trump’s travel restrictions from Europe into the U.S. Americans with trips scheduled are scrambling to figure out what to do next.
Those in Hawaii’s tourism industry are worried that Hawaii could be taking a major economic hit.
But there are some who are deciding instead of canceling to bring their business to the islands instead.
“We heard what had happened and realized that we had made a good call by choosing Hawaii,” sad Chelsie Lamie, who canceled her trip to Italy.
Chelsie Lamie runs a law firm in Clearwater, Florida.
When her team meets the annual goal, she takes them on an all-expense paid trip.
In the past, they’ve been to Kona and Thailand.
This year was supposed to be Italy.
“We were suspecting that there might be other problems and issues getting to and from many cities in Europe. So that’s when we decided that we need to stay within the United States.”
Her decision to cancel the Italy trip came at a good time — President trump suspending all travel from Europe for 30 days.
But Jamie isn’t letting the coronavirus cancel the trip altogether. They rebooked and flew to Hawaii on March 13, a place she feels is safe.
“We feel like there’s not a ton of cases that we’ve heard that are there and we don’t see any travel restrictions from any of the reputable government organizations. So we think that it’s going to be safe and we’re going to have a good time.”
A good time while following safety precautions.
“We’re just going to wash our hands a lot with hot soapy water for at least 20 seconds. We’re going to not shake hands with people,” she said. “We don’t let fear control us at all. We’re going to have a good time, follow the rules, follow the precautions and help support the Hawaiian tourism industry.”
Lamie’s team is keeping an eye on recommendations from reputable sources like the CDC and everyone traveling is healthy.
