States Hit Hardest by COVID-19’s Impact on Tourism

Wallet Hub,  Apr 14, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on many of America’s “non-essential” industries. That includes tourism, as countless attractions have closed down, from commercial hotspots like Disney World to natural wonders like Grand Canyon National Park. Even if tourist spots were open, though, they wouldn’t see much business, as Americans are either encouraged or mandated to practice social distancing and stay at home.

As tourism suffers, workers will bear the brunt of the difficulty. According to data from the U.S. Travel Association and Tourism Economics, there could be as many as 5.9 million jobs lost due to declining travel by the end of April. However, the stimulus package signed by President Trump may provide some aid to the industry in the form of business loans, tax relief and other financial support.

Some states have taken more of a blow to their travel industries during the COVID-19 crisis than others. In order to find out which states have been hit the hardest, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 10 key metrics. Their data set ranges from share of businesses in travel and tourism-related industries to travel spending per travel employee and presence of stay-at-home orders….

read … Full Report

HAWAII

1 --Overall Rank

81.38 -- Total Score

1 -- ‘State Dependency on Travel & Tourism Industry’ Rank

2 -- ‘State Aggressiveness Against Coronavirus’ Rank

2 – Highest Share of Travel and Tourism Industry Generated GDP

2 – Highest Share of Businesses in Travel and Tourism Related Industries

1 – Highest Share of Employment in Travel and Tourism Related Industries

1 (tie) – Highest Travel and Tourism Consumer Spending per Capita

1 – Highest Share of Consumer Expenditures on Travel

KITV: WalletHub says no other state suffered more from the tourism blow than Hawai'i

  *   *   *   *   *

States with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Due to COVID-19

Wallet Hub, April 16, 2020

As the U.S. economy has slowed to a crawl due to COVID-19, countless businesses have shut their doors in accordance with the resulting social distancing policies. Consequently, many businesses have furloughed or laid off employees, and 22 million Americans have found themselves temporarily or permanently out of a job since the week of March 16.

While Americans have started to receive their government stimulus checks, those who are jobless will likely still struggle. However, not all states have experienced the same levels of unemployment due to the pandemic. To identify which states’ workforces have been hurt most by COVID-19, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on increases in unemployment claims. They used this data to rank the most impacted states in both the latest week for which we have data (April 6) and overall since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis (March 16).

read … Full Report

Hawaii

19 --  Most Affected Last Week

23 -- Most Affected Since Start of COVID-19 Crisis

Hawaii

2975.62% -- Increase in Unemployment Claims (2020 vs 2019)*

1800.99% -- Increase in Unemployment Claims (April vs January 2020)**

3078.33% -- Increase in Unemployment Claims (April vs Start of COVID-19 Crisis)***

*Refers to the increase in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of April 6, 2020 compared to the week of April 8, 2019.

**Refers to the increase in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims in the week of April 6, 2020 compared to the week of January 1, 2020.

***Refers to the increase in the number of unemployment insurance initial claims between the weeks of March 16, 2020 to April 6, 2020 compared to the weeks of March 18, 2019 to April 8, 2019.