Our friends at Bank of Hawaii were kind enough to invite us to a breakfast with their Chief Economist Paul Brewbaker this morning to discuss his views on the State of Hawaii and Maui's economy. Here are some snippets:

TOURISM

• Aloha and ATA represented approximately 15% of the domestic capacity to Hawaii;
• There is little incentive in the near term for Hawaiian and/or Go to expand capacity;
• Because of that and the concomitant higher fares, we should expect 5% fewer tourists in 2008 compared to 2007;
• Air passenger count was down 16% in the first three weeks of 2008;
• Inflation is increasingly one of his concerns;

HOUSING

• Hawaii construction following mainland trends;
• Not as much excess inventory state-wide as on the mainland;
• Maui now more expensive than Oahu on average;
• Maui housing is likely near the bottom of the cycle;

Brewbaker repeatedly referred top the inherent unpredicability in the economy and financial sector problems. However, he did state he does NOT believe we are in a recession and ventured a guess that the volatility in the financial markets are nearing an end. or more details, contact us!