Seven miles - the distance from Kihei to Costco, Walmart, Kmart, etc.
Yet, they want to put in a mega-mall in Kihei
Oh, it will provide jobs. Think again.
First of all, the construction jobs will be temporary at best and often outsourced.
Second, the mall will cause the closing of many small businesses in Kihei. Just look at the number of storefronts empty. Just talk to the local business owners; they will tell you they are barely making it now.
There is a limited supply of spending dollars by our residents. As we divide those dollars now with a mega-mall, profits will go down even for the current big-box stores and people will be let go. So the imaginary increase in jobs will really be a shift of jobs from small stores and our current box stores to the new mega-mall. Knowing that visitors are not coming to Maui to shop, the mega stores will also soon suffer and once again jobs will be lost.
We must keep our eye on the prize. The prize is the industry that keeps this island going - tourism. We must maintain and increase tourism, our real industry, for economic solvency. We must be diligent about what we construct, how we manage our land, our open spaces, our beaches and natural wonders. We must focus on the prize. Tourists come for the beauty, the beaches, the aloha spirit and the wonders that are Maui.
Mary Trotto
Kihei
