Kauai’s economy
has bright spots, but
no boom for ’98
Tourism, movie shoots
By Trish Moore
and high tech offer hope,
an economist says
Kauai correspondent
Star-BulletinPRINCEVILLE, Kauai -- Kauai's economy has been sluggish this year and although there are hopeful signs for 1988, residents shouldn't expect a boom, says a bank economist. Leroy Laney, chief economist for First Hawaiian Bank presented his annual economic outlook to the Kauai Chamber of Commerce last night.
Bright spots on Kauai's economic horizon include tourism, the film industry and high tech at the Pacific Missile Range Facility, Laney said.
The reopening this month of the Sheraton Kauai Resort in Poipu added another 413 rooms to the island's total, plus more than 250 jobs. Cruise ship traffic to the island is likely to increase 70 percent next year, he said.
Revenues from the film industry surged this year, thanks to $9.3 million dropped by Disney Pictures in filming "6 Days, 7 Nights." "Kauai tourism benefits greatly from the island's frequent use as a movie location," he said.
High tech on Kauai also shows promise. "Each neighbor island has its comparative advantage upon which to build a fledgling high-tech sector: the Big Island, it's astronomy; Maui, it's supercomputer. For Kauai, the clear candidate is the Navy's missile range facility."
The most recent outgrowth of the facility is the planned Waimea Visitor and Techno Center, set to open late next year. Funded by a $2.4 million federal grant, the center will be primarily leased by contractors at the missile range.
Laney noted retail sales rose this year, with Kukui Grove Mall reporting a 2.7 percent increase in sales the first half of 1997, "the first increase in a long while."
The island also must decide whether to extend the runway at Lihue Airport so longer-range airliners can land. "Runway extension fortunately hasn't become the explosive issue it is" on Maui.
Instead, the growth vs. anti-growth debate is symbolized on Kauai's north shore by the charter boat industry in Hanalei. "This boater issue is a microcosm of the quandary that any small and gorgeous place like Kauai faces: Preserve the environment or create enough jobs so we can live here?"
