Locals take back tourist-free Waikiki during pandemic

HONOLULU (AP) — Growing up in Hawaii, Amber Lethem's family avoided Waikiki, the world-famous tourist mecca.

“I reflect back on my childhood, Waikiki has always been this pinnacle of like that’s where all the tourists are,” Lethem said. “We didn't really go into Waikiki, ever.”

Many other locals would also shun Waikiki's congested streets and herds of slow-moving tourists.

But now that the coronavirus pandemic has forced state leaders to impose a 14-day quarantine on travelers arriving to the islands, Waikiki is mostly a ghost town. Gov. David Ige has extended the traveler quarantine through June.

So, locals are taking Waikiki back. Residents are enjoying wide sidewalks for running and walking. They’re swimming -- with lots of room for social distancing -- in waters normally clogged with awestruck and sunburned tourists. There’s more parking available for those escaping small houses and apartments in neighborhoods that don’t have sidewalks.

Lethem, a sales coach who lives on the eastern edge of Waikiki that has fewer hotels, said she's able to enjoy the area for the first time in her life in ways she hasn't be able to before.

“I have been experiencing Waikiki more, and it’s definitely in a different paradigm,” she said. “It’s overwhelming with tons of tourists. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s a lot. It’s like, it’s intense.”

Tourists “are sometimes oblivious,” Lethem said. “They're so enamored by being in Hawaii that they're not as present to people who are local.”

She's appreciating how “beautiful and calm” her community is now. “And I'm so happy to enjoy it in this capacity right now,” she said.

As of Friday, Hawaii had 649 cases of coronavirus. There have been 17 deaths.

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