Nowhere do people feel the effects of a struggling economy quite like an island or state built largely on tourism. Isolated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, 2000 miles from most international airline hubs, Hawaii feels that pinch in a way unlike most U.S mainland locations.
The local shops on Front Street in Lahaina are quiet. There are no long waiting lists for reservations at all our favorite places: Hard Rock Café, Kimo’s, Longhi’s, or Bubba Gumps. The service is as great as ever and the food is still wonderful. It’s not a ghost-town; cars still line the streets. But it’s not bustling the way it has been in holidays past.
It started with Aloha going out of business and other airlines cutting back on schedules. Gas prices have come down – and that is appreciated – but a gallon of unleaded still costs $3.28. With fewer tourists dropping money on everything from postcards to rum, things are tighter here on Maui than most places for the locals. It’s not like they can drive 30 miles and find work in a different industry. A lady at a local souvenir shop shared that there are fewer service jobs and those that remain offer fewer hours.
In a non-isolated region, displaced workers using the Green Light Scoring Model™ can take a few easy steps to determine alternate careers. The local people of Hawaii have a special challenge; they’re limited in many cases by a lack of customers. Many own homes which they cannot sell or they have families they do not want to leave behind. A lot of workers across the U.S. and the world are feeling the same challenges felt here. Adapting to this environment is difficult but not impossible.
To survive this economy it’s critical for all workers to find and cultivate alternate skills and income sources. The Green Light Scoring Model can help you do exactly that.
For those who have the skills but need reliable job leads, you need a comprehensive online job resource with 75+ hot job sites that cater to job seekers by industry, executive, general, and freelance/contract or work-at-home. We’re responding with a mini guide that also includes actual corporate questionnaires you may be asked to complete when you apply for a job.
Creating Job Security, The 2009 All-In-One Workbook, published by the Graduate Group, comes out December 1. Coming soon, the Creating Job Security Resource Guide. Your pain is real. But there are solutions. They are inside you and we can help you unlock them. If you have suggestions or tips for other blog readers, please share them here and give someone else hope this week as the U.S. celebrates the Thanksgiving holiday. Someone will be thankful you did. Mahalo and aloha.
2 comments:
Interesting post. I wouldn't expect tourism in Hawaii to be hurt so bad. I would have thought people hurt by the current economic drop off wouldn't be those who take vacations in tropical locations.
We live on Kauai and our family's income comes from US mainland and Japanese visitors. Things are slow. I work at Beezers on the Coconut Coast. My husband is a musician who also works as a guide. We've both seen our income go down. We talked to our kids about why we don't have the same amount of money, and they offered to help by making shell jewelry and braclets to sell at art fairs. We didn't want to hurt their feelings so we went along with it. But it turned out good for our whole family. Our family crafts bring in a couple extra hundred dollars a month and we all spend time as a family at craft fairs. It would be nice to have more visitors return to Kauai, but the time together as a family has taught our kids Keke and Ben that they will be okay and we will be okay as a family no matter what happens if we stay together. Mahalo.
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