When the Covid-19 pandemic virtually shuttered Hawaii to tourists from late March to mid-October, it left Bruce Fisher mostly idle.
The Honolulu-based travel advisor owns and operates Hawaii Aloha Travel with his wife, Yaling; the couple focuses solely on vacations to the Islands. By July, there was no clarity on when the pandemic might dissipate, when Hawaii would reopen to tourists or when the Fishers' phone might start ringing again.
Instead of getting bogged down in elements out of his control, Fisher got to work on new tools to meet the times. In early July, he launched a Facebook group that promotes responsible travel to Hawaii, a way for Hawaii's hospitality industry to network and also share information with potential visitors. A radio reporter prior to working in travel, he also expanded an existing podcast on Hawaii, switching to a video format and partnering with media organizations to broaden its reach.
But the project that he says has garnered the most interest is his Safe Travel Hawaii Airline Calculator, an online tool that helps travelers plan their schedule for Covid-19 testing prior to travel so they comply with the Aloha State's requirements.
"I had a little more time on my hands with bookings slow, and I just tried to think of how I can be of help," Fisher said. "I wanted to figure out how I could contribute and be part of the solution, and I did feel people in the travel business were getting a bad name."
While Hawaii was still in lockdown, with a mandatory 14-day quarantine for all arrivals, there was significant tension within the state over promoting tourism. So, during the summer Fisher focused on the Facebook page and simply sharing accurate, up-to-date information. Then, when Hawaii launched its pretravel testing program on Oct. 15, which allowed travelers to the Islands to bypass the quarantine, Fisher shifted to sharing information on the program and its requirements.
"The Safe Travels Calculator really brought in a lot of people," Fisher said. "We really worked to provide information and simplify things for people. After the pretravel testing program launched, by far the most common questions we were getting on the Facebook page were: How, when and where do I get my test?"
Launching the new services and products helped keep Fisher in the conversation and on the minds of prospective travelers to the Islands, he said.
"The tools and media provide marketing for our business, and even if the audience did not immediately book with us, a lot of them did come back and reach out to us when they were ready to book," Fisher said.
He said the calculator has been getting about 150 unique visitors a day; he is uncertain how many of those visits are actually turning into bookings.
"All of these things we're doing to respond to consumers' needs are increasing our business, because we are actually booking at prepandemic levels," Fisher said. "I also think that having the calculator and offering assistance to our customers has helped significantly close sales, because people need help navigating Hawaii's Safe Travels program in general."
Fisher says booking rates have returned to prepandemic levels, and he has seen enough business in the new year that he is bringing in additional help in the form of a new hire who recently graduated from the University of Hawaii School for Travel Industry Management.
The bookings are of all varieties: immediate trips coming up in February and March, summer vacations and island getaways all the way into November and the holiday season.
"People are calling about everything," Fisher said. "A lot of people want to come now, in the next 60 days. I think there is a lot of pent-up demand for any vacation, period. People have Covid fatigue, and they're itching to get out. I'm getting a lot of honeymooners now who waited through 2020 to make their plans and are now finally booking."
Fisher said he has advised some travelers to Hawaii who are particularly worried about getting test results in time to get two different tests done prior to their departure so if one lab fails to deliver in time, perhaps the other one will.
"In some ways the testing program has helped us. People need travel advisors more than ever because of Covid," Fisher said. "People have all kinds of questions right now on testing procedures and where to get tested. A lot of people are nervous about the test, because there's no testing company that's going to guarantee the results in that time frame."
The situation in Hawaii is made more complicated by different regulations on different islands in the state. Kauai, most notably, still requires all out-of-state arrivals to quarantine for 10 days, even if they were tested prior to traveling. If someone is traveling to Kauai after spending at least 72 hours on a different Hawaiian island, they can bypass quarantine if they test negative for Covid-19 prior to their departure. Additionally, out-of-state travelers to Kauai who are tested for coronavirus prior to arrival may stay in one of the island's permitted "resort bubbles," where they are not allowed to leave the resort grounds until producing a negative result on a follow-up test taken three days after arrival.
"Kauai is still very difficult," Fisher said. "I can't comfortably tell people to go there right now, and I'm not booking Kauai in any meaningful way right now."
For clients who are attracted to Kauai, he has been steering them to other islands while promising that if the Kauai regulations ease prior to their trip, he will rebook them to Kauai.
"If their trip is for August, things could change by then," Fisher said. "They love it when I offer that option and give them that flexibility."
Fisher said he expects the lifting of California's most recent stay-at-home order on Jan. 25 and the decision from the federal government to require Covid-19 testing for all U.S. residents returning from abroad to boost interest in Hawaii in the coming weeks and months.
Now, rather than looking for ways to fill his time, Fisher is scrambling to keep up with his daily schedule of Zoom meetings with potential clients.
"It's not doom and gloom," Fisher said. "We are coming back slow and steady. I really believe there couldn't be a better time for travel advisors to be booking this market."